Harrington Closes Out Crimson Career at NCAAs

Tri-captain No. 9 Jimmy Harrington finished up his Harvard wrestling career in the 157-pound bracket at the NCAA Championships, going 1-2 over two days after winning an overtime thriller in the first round and giving up two falls in the second round and consolation match.

In his previous NCAA Championships appearance in 2025, Harrington advanced to the second round after opening the tournament with a win. He had a similar experience this year, making it into the second round but was unable to place in a bracket stacked with athletes from powerful programs like Oklahoma State, Nebraska, and Penn State – from which the first three 157-pound placers hail, respectively, and who make up the podium of team scores from this weekend.

Harrington arrived in Cleveland as the 20th seed to face off against No. 13 Derek Raike, a redshirt junior from Ohio University, in the first round on Thursday afternoon. Harrington drew first blood with an escape less than ten seconds into the second period to take an early 1-0 lead. Raike answered with an escape of his own to open the third, tying the score at one apiece and sending the match to sudden victory overtime.

In the third period, Harrington shot a double and worked into an underhook position with Raike on the mat, running him around the edge before pulling up a leg to complete the takedown. The 4-1 sudden victory decision was Harrington’s second career NCAA win.

“I had great training leading up to it,” the senior said. “I was just trusting in that and relying on what I had worked on the past few weeks, focusing and trusting and believing in all that I’ve done. I felt very confident the whole match going into overtime.”

Head coach Jay Weiss, the longest-tenured coach in Division I wrestling, shared in Harrington’s confidence.

“I don’t think he was better prepared any other time than this weekend,” Weiss said. “His mental state was outstanding. He was healthy, his body felt good, and his conditioning was great. I just knew he was going to wrestle his best.”

Unfortunately for Harrington and the Crimson coaching staff, the winning momentum was short-lived. Later that day, he ran into the fourth seed Kaleb Larkin, a redshirt freshman from Arizona State. Harrington pressed early, shooting an unfruitful single and looking for other opportunities, but Larkin proved too strong to overcome. After a scramble on the mat, Larkin locked up a cradle and secured the fall at 2:42 to end Harrington’s run on the winners’ side of the bracket.

On Friday morning, looking to make a comeback on the other side of the bracket, Harrington faced 19th seed Kai Owen of Columbia in the consolation second round. This was a familiar situation for the two Ivy-Leaguers, who had matched up three times earlier this season, with Owen taking a 2-1 edge. Harrington was unable to tie up the record, however, and was pinned by Owen at 1:45 to end his journey in Rocket Arena and wrap up his time in a Harvard singlet.

“It was a huge bummer,” Harrington said. “Obviously, I wanted to finish strong, but this fell short of my goals.” Still, he reflected positively on both his season and his collegiate career. “I don’t have any regrets with this season and how things went. I like to leave this season knowing that I gave my best attitude and effort 100 percent of the time.”

The result may have been disappointing for Harrington and Harvard, but it closed out a legacy that the wrestler has built steadily over the past four years. A two-time NCAA qualifier, he became just the latest in a program dating back over 100 years, tallying over 60 qualifiers during that span.

This season, Harrington led the Crimson with 22 total wins while earning Honorable Mention All-Ivy and Academic All-Ivy honors, even picking up an Ivy League Wrestler of the Week title in November. But beyond the accolades, he leaves behind something harder to quantify.

“The amount my character has grown from being a Harvard wrestler is probably the most valuable thing I’ve gotten here,” Harrington said. “Being a wrestler in general, there’s just a heightened level of character that comes with the sport.”

Weiss, who has watched that growth unfold in real time, said it is precisely what keeps him coaching.

“To see the growth in somebody from the recruiting process, and then they matriculate, and then they become the leader, the person, the wrestler that they are, it’s literally one of the reasons I do what I do,” he said. “He’s hit every single one of those steps, and I’m extremely proud of him.”

As for what comes next, Harrington has another year of eligibility remaining, and Weiss indicated that the two plan to sit down soon to figure out the best path forward. For now, Harrington is letting the dust settle.

“I’ve loved every second of it,” said Harrington about his time at Harvard. “I’m bummed that it’s coming to an end, but all good things do. And I’m really happy that this is the place I ended up.”

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