Wrestling Comeback Falls Short in Loss to Maryland

Sometimes a comeback does not equate to a win. Harvard men’s wrestling team (0-1) opened its dual meet season with three meets on the road this weekend. On Jan. 9 at the inaugural Beauty and the Beast event at XFINITY Center in College Park, Md., the Crimson faced Maryland (5-7) in its third meet in five years, looking to record its first win against the Terrapins.

Though Harvard overcame a 15-point deficit by winning four consecutive bouts to tie the game, its efforts were not enough to top Maryland, which won 21-18. What first appeared as a comfortable victory for the Terrapins came down to the final weight class to determine a victor.

“I was a little unsure at first, but we came back strong at the end,” Preston said. “[We] really took it to them in the last four matches and winning three of the last four.”

Maryland had taken the early lead after two bouts. Because the Crimson did not have a competitor for the 125 lbs. weight category, the team had to forfeit the first match, giving Josh Polacek the win and automatic six points. The Terrapins’ No. 18 Geoffrey Alexander defeated his Harvard opponent, senior Ryan Osleeb, by 15 points due to a technical fall. These two wins gave Maryland its 11-0 lead.

“It really makes it tough for our team to come back but our upper weights really did a good job,” Preston said. “So going into that, we knew that we had to…recover up some of those points.”

Preston put the first few points on the board for the Crimson with a 4-0 decision against Shyheim Brown at 141 lbs, cutting the Terrapins’ lead to single digits.

“We just wanted to put some points back on the board and help motivate the guys, and let them know that we were in the match, and that we could win these matches,” Preston said.

At 149 lbs., sophomore Colby Knight lost a close decision to R.J. DeGeorge, 3-1. Maryland then took the opportunity to extend their lead to 18-3 with Louis Mascala’s major decision over freshman Tyler Tarsi in the 157 lbs. weight category.

Things turned around for Harvard after Tarsi’s defeat. The winning streak began with sophomore Tyler Grimaldi over the Terrapins’ Tyler Manion. Grimaldi won the bout in the 165 lbs. weight class 10-4.

The streak continued with freshman Josef Johnson over Josh Snook in a close match, 4-3, at 174 lbs. This was Johnson’s first collegiate win in a dual meet, though the rookie has been impressive thus far in the season, earning major decisions at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open and the Midlands Championship.

“I think there was probably a lot of doubt as to whether or not we would be able to get it done, and I kept it rolling, which I think inspired a lot of guys, especially the match after me,” Johnson said. “I guess I kind of showed them that if I could do it, they could do it as well. So I think my match was pretty important to the overall scope of the team match.”

Junior Michael Mocco, at 184 lbs., pinned Sean O’Malley at 4:16. With this third consecutive win, the Crimson was within three points of Maryland.

It seemed that momentum was on Harvard’s side with co-captain James Fox’s win—the fourth straight one—in the 197 lbs. weight class against Rob Fitzgerald, 4-0. Fox’s win tied up the match at 18 points apiece.

But it just wasn’t enough.

It came down to the heavyweight match between senior David Ng and Maryland’s newly returned senior Spencer Myers for the game winner. Ng was unable to win a point, as Myers notched an escape in the second period and managed to hold Ng off in the third to win the decision 2-0, and the meet for the Terrapins.

“I think we learned a huge lesson that…we can be right up there,” Preston said. “Even though we are a young team this year, that we can accomplish goals that we set at the beginning of the year.”

—Staff writer Katherine H. Scott can be reached at katherinescott@college.harvard.edu.