Harvard Wrestling Duels to Seventh Place at NWCA National Duals

Harvard wrestling opened its dual season at the NWCA Multi-Division National Duals this weekend at the UNI-Dome, competing in dual matches against Northern Illinois, No. 8 South Dakota State, Campbell, and Central Michigan across the two-day tournament. The Crimson recorded a 28-17 win over Campbell and a dominant 35-17 victory over CSU Bakersfield to secure seventh-place while falling in three closely contested duals, concluding the tournament with a 2-3 record.

Harvard vs. Northern Illinois

Harvard opened competition on Friday against Northern Illinois. The Huskies took an early lead, winning the first three bouts against sophomore Logan Brzozowski, junior captain Coleman Nogle, and senior Dante Frinzi to move ahead 11-0. The Crimson responded beginning at 149 pounds, where junior captain Jack Crook earned a 16-8 major decision, putting offensive pressure on his opponent for the majority of the match to get Harvard onto the scoreboard.

At 157 pounds, captain Jimmy Harrington followed with a 3-2 decision to narrow the deficit. Junior Joe Cangro then followed with a crucial win at 165 pounds, giving Harvard its first lead of the dual at 13-11. He fought out from under his opponent in the second period before turning around to pin him at 4:18 to win the match.

Northern Illinois regained the advantage with a major decision over freshman Ben Smith at 174 pounds, but Harvard evened the score at 17-17 when junior Matt Walsh pulled off an 11-2 major decision at 184 pounds. Sophomore Hudson Skove added on a 5-0 decision at 197 pounds, putting the Crimson ahead 20-17 heading into the final bout.

The Huskies closed the dual with a tech fall at heavyweight to secure a razor-thin 22-20 win over Harvard in the opener.

“It was good for us to get into that type of environment where someone drops a tight, close bout,” said Harvard’s Head Coach Jay Weiss when asked about competing as a team rather than individually. “If it went the other way, the whole outcome might have been different.”

Harvard vs. South Dakota State

Later on Friday, Harvard faced off against the nationally 8th-ranked South Dakota State in a series of 10 bouts, swapping out Frinzi for freshman Sid Tildsley at 141 pounds. The Jackrabbits won eight of the 10 bouts, finishing with a 35-3 team score and handing Harvard a heavy loss. Crook accounted for Harvard’s lone win with an 8-2 decision at 140 pounds.

Walsh was able to force overtime at 184 pounds before falling to his opponent on riding time. Several other bouts were also decided by bonus points, including two tech falls and even a pin at 285 pounds for South Dakota State.

Harvard vs. Campbell

Harvard finished up its journey on Friday against Campbell. The Crimson had a dominant start, winning five of the first six bouts.

Brzozowski reeled in an 18-3 tech fall to open the dual at 125 pounds. Swapped back into the lineup, Frinzi added on a 7-3 decision at 141 pounds. Crook also piled on a tech fall for his second win of the day with a 19-4 victory at 149 pounds, followed by Harrington’s 7-3 decision at 157 pounds.

Cangro and Skove picked up wins by forfeit, allowing Harvard to coast to a 28-17 victory over Campbell, notching the Crimson’s first team win of the tournament.

Harvard vs. Central Michigan

Back to the mat on Saturday morning, Harvard faced Central Michigan. The teams were tied midway through the lineup before CMU pulled away during the heavier matches to take the win.

Brzozowski kicked off the dual with a 14-7 decision, followed by Nogle’s 8-3 win at 133 pounds to give Harvard an early 6-0 lead.

Central Michigan answered with wins at both 141 and 149 pounds, with Crook unable to complete a late comeback in the latter.

“I know I can beat that guy in a different scenario,” Crook said after the match. “Hopefully, I can just not give up so many points in the beginning, but it was a good lesson.”

CMU’s run was interrupted by Cangro’s 11-0 major decision at 165 pounds, which evened the team score at 10-10.

The dual got away from the Crimson in the heavier portion of the line-up, which seemed to struggle to record points throughout the weekend. Central Michigan went on to win the final four bouts of the dual, including two bonus-point victories, to beat Harvard 26-10.

Harvard vs. CSU Bakersfield

To close out the weekend, Harvard took 7th place overall by excelling in its match-up against CSU Bakersfield with a decisive 35-7 team score. Winning eight of the 10 bouts and putting up three falls and a tech fall, it was a dominant victory for the Crimson squad that set a positive tone for the duals to come in the rest of the season.

Brzozowski opened with a 4-2 decision to give the Crimson an early lead. In the next bout, Nogle tacked on a fall in the second period to extend the lead to 9-0.

CSU Bakersfield got on the board with an 11-4 decision over Tildsley, but Harvard responded with consecutive wins at 149 and 157 pounds from Crook and Harrington, respectively. Cangro added on a win of his own before the Roadrunners took the major decision at 174 pounds. Harvard sealed off the victory with three straight wins, featuring two pins from Walsh and freshman Dylan Greenstein, and a sudden victory decision for junior Logan Marissal to end the weekend on a positive note for the heavyweights and the team as a whole.

“When we compete and come back, we get better,” Weiss said. “We see what we did well, we see what we didn’t do well, and we make adjustments on things that we need to focus on.”

The Crimson will open its Ivy League dual season at Cornell on Jan. 25 at 2:00 p.m. EST, followed by a dual at Binghamton at 6:00 p.m. EST.

—Staff writer Rani J. Amin can be reached at [email protected].