Jantzen Poised To Win National Title

Ranked first in the nation all year and with just one loss on the season, the Harvard wrestling team’s Jesse Jantzen is in position to accomplish something that no Crimson grappler has done since the Great Depression.

Should co-captain No. 1 Jantzen plow through the competition as he is favored to do, he will become just the second Harvard wrestler in history to win an NCAA championship and the first since John Harkness ’38 won it during the Roosevelt era.

Also looking to score big at this weekend’s tournament are co-captain Reggie Lee (197 lbs.), freshman Bode Ogunwole (HWT) and sophomore Max Meltzer (141 lbs.).

No. 1 JESSE JANTZEN (149 LBS.), SR.

Record: 33-1

Key Opponent: Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Zack Esposito (29-1), So.

While Jantzen has certainly done everything right to put himself in a position to win an NCAA title—finishing third in nationals the past two years and becoming the first Crimson wrestler to earn three EIWA championships and four NCAA tournament berths—the road to the top position will not be an easy one.

For starters, he must win four straight matches to even reach the final match. Though the hardest opponent he could face along this route is Michigan’s No. 4 Ryan Churella (27-3), Jantzen has already pinned him this year. Other formidable opponents that he may face before the championship match are Iowa State’s No. 5 Trent Paulson (25-6) and Penn State’s No. 8 Matt Storniolo (31-7)—neither of whom have ever wrestled against Jantzen.

In the finals, the Shoreham, N.Y., native will most likely come up against Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Zack Esposito (29-1), a man who is currently on a 24-match win streak, has beat the third- through eighth-ranked wrestlers in the country and who was pictured last week in Sports Illustrated in the Big 12 tournament. Like Jantzen, he has only lost one match all year, at the very beginning. Jantzen’s loss came wrestling up a weight class at 157 lbs.

“[Jantzen] matches up great with any opponnent,” said Harvard coach Jay Weiss. “If he goes out and wrestles the best that he can, which I know that he will, he’s going to have a great trip.”

Jantzen also has history on his side. He has made three trips to the NCAA tournament prior to this year, while Esposito’s only previous appearance was last year’s surprising early exit competing in the 141 lb. weight class.

No matter what the outcome of the tournament, however, the effects of Jantzen’s tenure at Harvard will have a long-lasting impact on the program.

“His contribution to the program has been huge,” Lee said. “We probably have some recruits that we haven’t seen before who are going to look at Harvard now.”

MAX MELTZER (141 LBS.), SO.

Record: 32-8

Key Opponent: Central Michigan’s No. 4 Jason Mester (27-2), Sr.

Since he finished third in this year’s EIWA tournament after losing to Penn’s Doug McGraw—the conference champion and the 10-seed in the national tournament—Meltzer may have missed his chance to get a tournament seed, though he is ranked No. 13.

Nevertheless, Meltzer will get a first round bye and will not face a ranked opponent until at least the third round, at which point he will probably face Central Michigan’s Jason Mester.

“If Meltzer wrestles as well as he can, I can see him going really far in this tournament,” Weiss said.

REGGIE LEE (197 LBS.), SR.

Record: 16-10

Key Opponent: Missouri’s No. 4 Ryan Bader (29-6), So.

Like Jantzen, this will be Lee’s last shot at glory, though it will be his first trip to the NCAAs.

In his first match, Lee will face Ohio’s Joel Weimer (23-13), and will probably face Arizona State’s No. 4 Ryan Bader (29-6) in his second.

Still, Lee is most concerned with not getting too far ahead of himself.

“I think my focus is going to be on my first match,” Lee said. “Once I win that one, I can move on from there.”

BODE OGUNWOLE (HWT.), FR.

Record: 14-7

Key Opponent: Cleveland State’s No. 9 Russ Davie (25-5), Sr.

Unlike the rest of his teammates, Ogunwole will have to face a ranked opponent from the get-go when he takes on No. 9 Russ Davie in the opening round.

But he also has the benefit of the smallest weight bracket, with just 30 wrestlers competing.

Ogunwole has been the biggest surprise of the year for Harvard. After junior Jonas Corl went down with a knee injury early in the season, Ogunwole has emerged as one of Harvard’s leaders as well as the most surprising wrestler in the conference, scoring the only takedown against Penn’s No. 3 Matt Feast during the EIWA tournament. Even if Ogunwole or Meltzer make an early exit, expect to see them again in next year’s tournament.

—Staff writer Evan R. Johnson can be reached at erjohns@fas.harvard.edu.