Two Ranked Opponents Keep Wrestling Winless

At the tail ends of the spectrum, the Harvard wrestling team has 125-lb. Robbie Preston and heavyweights Bode Ogunwole and Jonas Corl. The trio combined for all but three of the Crimson’s points in the losses to Army and Lehigh over the break, and the three continued their success on the mats. It’s the middle of the line-up where Harvard (0-6) needs some power.

The Crimson wrestlers, tired from finals and lacking a full, healthy roster, were defeated 29-9 by No. 25 Army and 37-12 by No. 5 Lehigh, and got a chance to see just how much work they have to put in before the tournaments at the end of the season, where the strongest wrestlers have a chance to erase the scars from the winless season with individual victories.

“I’m not looking at wins and losses, I’m looking at how they are competing,” Harvard coach Jay Weiss said. “The end of the year is looming.”

LEHIGH 37, HARVARD 12

Though the Crimson was able to score more points against Lehigh (17-3) the day after facing Army (11-3), Weiss felt the team competed better in its first contest. The Mountain Hawks, some of whom Harvard had faced at the Midlands Tournament earlier this season, benefited from the two matches Harvard forfeited at 165 and 174 lbs.

“We were outmatched,” Weiss said. “We didn’t have that many healthy bodies.”

The match started off on an ominous note as sophomore Brent Kakesako (133 lbs.) was pinned in 0:44 by Matt Ciasulli, giving Lehigh an immediate six-point lead.

Co-captain Mike Baria cut the lead in half in the next match at 141 lbs., tallying three team points in a dominating 8-1 win over Mark McCauley.

But the team’s remaining nine points wouldn’t come until the final two matches on the day—when Corl and Preston wrestled—as the Crimson wrestlers were continually topped by the Mountain Hawks.

Corl eked out a 3-2 victory over Tom Curl to put Harvard back on the board in the second-to-last match, continuing to prove that even though Ogunwole had the night off, the Crimson’s opponent would not have it easy in the heavyweight bracket.

Preston, who normally starts off the matches for the team at 125 lbs., instead ended Harvard’s match on a positive note by overpowering and pinning Andrew Rizzi in 2:05.

Freshman Billy Colgan (184 lbs.) and Andrew Dane (197 lbs.) both fell in similar fashion as Kakesako, with Lehigh wrestlers pinning each in 52 seconds and 41 seconds, respectively.

The other rookies on the team, Dominic DeNunzio and Matt Button, were also unable to give Harvard a win. In the match following Baria’s win, Lehigh’s David Nakasone defeated DeNunzio 6-3, and began a Mountain Hawk string of six uncontested victories. Button fell by major decision to Matt Anderson 8-0.

ARMY 29, HARVARD 9

With Harvard’s only wins coming from Preston and Ogunwole, the Crimson sat and watched as player after player went down from the 133 lb. to the 197 lb. brackets until Ogunwole stopped the bleeding and added six points to the scoreboard that boasted 19 points for the Black Knights and none for Harvard.

Preston came out roaring in his first match back after the finals period, overwhelming Travis Featherstone 17-2. Preston’s 17 points is equivalent to the total points posted by the seven Crimson wrestlers who lost.

Ogunwole won by a sizable nine-point margin as well, topping Thobaben 14-5.

Although Weiss was happy with the fire he saw from the other wrestlers that competed, they were unable to clinch victories for Harvard.

Baria came the closest, but dropped the intense match 3-2 in overtime to Patrick Simpson.

Kakesako, DeNunzio, Button, Colgan, Dane, and senior Jon Mankovich were defeated by Army’s wrestlers, indicating the middle ranks of Harvard’s wrestling team still need much improvement before their next matches against Ivy rivals Princeton and Penn the first weekend in February.

“We’re just going to keep wrestling and get ready for the tournament,” Coach Weiss said.

—Staff writer Megha Parekh can be reached at parekh@fas.harvard.edu.