Wrestling Pins Fourth Place at EIWAs

Back in November, just as the season was beginning, Harvard wrestling Coach Jay Weiss described this team as "something special."

And after last weekend's EIWA Tournament at Navy, four Crimson wrestlers will continue their special season at the NCAA Championships. Harvard placed fourth out of 13 teams in Annapolis, claiming seven top-six finishes in addition to the four NCAA berths.

Highlighting the tournament was co-captain Joey Killar (165 pounds), the reigning EIWA champion. With his first place finish this weekend, Killar became the second grappler in Crimson history to earn two consecutive EIWA championships. Dustin DeNunzio '99 became the first to do so last season.

After turning in tremendous performances, co-captain Ed Mosley (174 pounds), sophomore heavyweight Dawid Rechul, and freshman Max Odom (149 pounds) will join Killar as Harvard's representatives at the national championships.

The Crimson headed to the EIWA riding a three-game winning streak. With four freshmen in its lineup, Harvard finished with 99.5 points, 20 points ahead of fifth-place Brown. However, the Crimson was unable to overtake league rivals Lehigh, Penn and Cornell, who claimed the top three spots, respectively.

Killar was in top form as he grappled his way to another championship.

After a bye in the first round, he easily dismantled Jim Stanec of Cornell 13-3 in the quarterfinals before defeating Greg Parker of Princeton by a 16-1 technical fall in the semis. In the finals, Killar faced Travis Doto of Lehigh, ranked No. 8 in the nation.

After losing a close bout to Doto in January, Killar was more than ready for revenge. He took a 2-0 lead 51 seconds into the first period and never looked back, eventually sealing a 6-5 win and guaranteeing a second EIWA title and a place in the Crimson record books.

"Joey looked awesome. He was on top of his game," said Weiss. "He completely controlled the bout against Doto. It wasn't as close as the score indicates."

Mosley earned a second-place finish and a trip to the NCAAs despite being hampered by a separated shoulder. He swept Scott Pasquini of Princeton 6-0 before taking down Shawn Thomas of Syracuse 8-5 in the quarters. In the semis, Mosley edged out Cornell's Joe Tucceri 4-3 to secure the NCAA spot.

In the finals, Mosley faced No. 1 seed Rick Springman of Penn. Unfortunately, he got caught in a tough position and Springman was able to get the pin.

"Because Ed was injured and not 100 percent, we focused on getting to the finals and securing a spot for NCAAs," Weiss said. "His shoulder was a concern but he got the job done."

Rechul continued to impress as he wrestled to a second place finish at heavyweight. After a first-round bye, Rechul dominated ESU's Rich Koehler 8-3 in the quarters.

In the semis, he pulled out an exciting victory over nemesis Seth Charles of Cornell, who had defeated Rechul in three close matches this season. This time, Rechul took the match 3-2 and ensured himself second place. After a scoreless first period in the finals, Rechul lost a tight 3-2 bout to Penn's Bandele Adeniyi-Bada.

"Dawid did a great job," said Weiss. "After his losses to Charles earlier this season, I kept saying he would beat him when it counted. And he did. With a trip to nationals on the line, he wrestled a terrific match."

At 149 pounds, freshman Max Odom earned a third-place finish and one of nine NCAA wildcard spots. Odom lost 7-6 to Jason Mercado of Brown in the quarters, but he breezed through the consolation brackets, winning 19-4, 17-9 and 18-10. He pinned Alex Berman of Cornell 2:39 into the match to seal third place.

In addition, Odom was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year for his outstanding performance on the mats all season long.

Senior Kevin Kurtz (157 pounds) ended his collegiate career with a fourth-place finish. Kurtz cruised past Albert Pendleton of Princeton 8-0 before battling to a thrilling 4-3 victory over Chris Vitale of Lehigh. In the semis, Kurtz proved a formidable opponent to top wrestler Brett Matter, but was unable to pull out the win. Matter--w ho would go on to claim the championship as well as the Coaches Outstanding Wrestler Award--won the match 3-1.

Freshman Patrick O'Donnell (184 pounds) just missed missing a NCAA berth with a close loss in the semis. Wrestling up from his normal 174-pound weight class, O'Donnell set the tone of the tournament with a commanding 17-3 win over Scott Zimmerman of Franklin and Marshall.

He then upset the No. 3 seed, Army's Joey Hess, with a 6-2 victory in the quarters. In the semis, O'Donnell lost a heatbreaking one-point match to Brown's Karl Rittger. But he pinned Rost Aizenberg 5:57 into the consolation match to claim fifth place in his first EIWA competition.

"Pat did an outstanding job. He is normally a 174-pounder but almost qualified for nationals at 184-pounds," said Weiss. "It was a great experience for him."

At 133 pounds, junior Matt Picarsic wrestled to a sixth place finish. He handled Jeff Beverly of Rutgers 15-2 in the quarters before falling to Penn's Jason Nagle 11-8 in the semis. Picarsic wrestled through an aggravated knee injury which had kept him out earlier in the season.

Also contributing to the Crimson's fourth-place finish were sophomore Brandon Rhoades (125 pounds), Nick Picarsic (141 pounds), and freshman Reggie Lee (197 pounds).

With so many returning grapplers, Harvard wrestling has much to look forward to in seasons to come. However, the team will also greatly suffer from the graduation of this year's seniors--Killar, Mosley, Kurtz, Tom Kiler, Nate Ackerman and Brett Williams.

With their passion and tremendous work ethic, these grapplers represent the heart of the Harvard program. Their leadership and enthusiasm both on and off the mats will be missed.

The Crimson now looks ahead to the NCAA Championships, which starts March 16. Killar, Mosley, Rechul, and Odom will continue moderate training before leaving next Tuesday for St. Louis.

Both Killar and Mosley are veterans to competition at the NCAA level. Mosley qualified in 1996, '97 and '98 before taking last year off. Last season, Killar earned All-American honors with a sixth-place finish. Judging from this past weekend, as well as from the season as a whole, there is no doubt that these four can do some major damage at the national level.