Wrestling Boasts Individual Triumphs

1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 9-8, 2-3 Ivy

Ivy Finish: N/A

Coach: Jay Weiss

Key Players: Junior Joel Friedman; Freshmen Joe Killar and Ed Mosely

1997

Wrestling has never been one of Harvard's more glamorous sports. While the campus impression of the sport may not change any time in the near future, the Harvard wrestling team has begun to raise some eyebrows nationwide.

Wrestling posted a 9-8 record this year, but the Crimson's finish slightly over .500 masked a series of great individual performances. In fact, over the last few seasons Harvard has consistently had some impressive grapplers.

This year was no different.

Freshman Joe Killar earned Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors, marking the third year in a row that a Crimson wrestler has won the award. Killar also placed sixth in the EIWA Championships in the 150-pound weight class and was named to the All-Ivy team.

Sophomore Ed Mosely continued to have success as an up-and-coming Harvard star. Mosely placed third at the EIWAs coming off a stellar freshman year that saw the young grappler take first in his class at the EIWA's and storm his way to All-Ivy and Rookie of the Year honors.

Captain Joel Friedman also fared well at EIWAs, finishing fourth in his class.

Despite its near-.500 record and relatively low standings in the Ivy League, Harvard showed that it can compete with the big boys. A relatively strong finish at the Las Vegas Invitational went a long way towards proving that.

"Our performance this year really bodes well for the future," Friedman said.

But perhaps the real story is the coaching staff. Over the past three years Harvard has amassed one of the most impressive group of coaches in the Ivy League, if not in the nation.

Granit Taropin joined the Crimson this year as an assistant coach. Taropin is internationally known for his success as a Soviet National Coach and for training grappling greats such as the Beloglasov twins, Sergie and Anatoly, who won Olympic gold in Moscow and Seoul respectively.

Assistant Coach Andrew McNerney was the last All-American produced by Harvard. McNerney finished fourth at NCAAs in 1983 to become only the fifth Crimson grappler to be selected as an All-American.

Harvard has also recently added U.S. Olympic champion Kendall Cross to the coaching staff. The Atlanta gold medalist's presence in the locker room as an assistant coach says a lot about the integrity of the Crimson program.

Head coach Jay Weiss has been the mind behind the recruiting success of Harvard in recent years. The Crimson's '95 recruiting class was ranked 14th in the nation by Centermat, while the '96 class was ranked 15th. Weiss' incoming recruits will no doubt again be part of a solid freshman class.

The Crimson will also have some returning blood to supplement the new recruits. Junior Dustin DeNunzio will rejoin the Crimson after a season of intensive training. DeNunzio, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1995, was a freestyle University All-American in his year away from Harvard.

"[DeNunzio's] definitely going to raise some eyebrows next year," Friedman said.

Harvard wrestling is definitely a program on its way up, even if its climb is shrouded in anonymity on campus.