Wrestling Takes 17th Place

The Harvard wrestling team was matched up this weekend against some of the toughest competition in the nation at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Friday and Saturday. It walked away with 48 points and a 17th-place finish among a field of 52.

Taking into account the strength of the field, the 17th-place finish should not get anyone down.

On the contrary, the Crimson has much to look forward to this season, as the tournament unveiled some bright new talents, especially freshman Louis Caputo, who finished fourth in his weight class at 184 lbs.

Caputo came into the tournament seeded No. 12, and immediately put up an impressive display by garnering four straight victories by decision. In the semifinal match, Caputo could not overcome top seed Pete Friedl of Illinois, who won an 8-4 decision. After winning a 3-2 decision against Dustin Wiles of Penn, Caputo faced third seed Joe Mazzurco of Cornell in an attempt to secure a third place finish, but lost 7-3.

Junior Robbie Preston (No. 4 seed) managed a close semifinal bout with Shawn Bunch of Edinboro, the top seeded player in the nation at 133 lbs., but could not seal the victory after the top-ranked player scored a takedown in the final 10 seconds. For Preston, the loss ended his 10-bout winning streak to start the season. After losing an 8-5 decision to No. 2 seed Darrell Vasquez of Cal Poly, Preston clinched fifth place by default.

No. 3 seed junior Bode Ogunwole (275 lbs.) also won his first four matches to advance to the semifinals, but there he lost 3-1 to No. 2 Cain Velasquez of Arizona State. Like Preston, he would eventually finish fifth by default.

Freshman Andrew Flanagan (157 lbs.) won two matches for Harvard, one against Gene Zannetti of Penn and the other against Tyler Thurgood of Columbia, before he defaulted. Sophomore Jonathan Butler and freshman Thomas Picarsic both garnered a victory each. Also playing in the tournament were sophomore Matt Button, senior Mike Baria and freshman Wesley Walker.

The efforts of its players carried the Crimson to finish just half a point behind the University at Buffalo. Michigan finished first in the tournament, followed by Cornell, Missouri, Edinboro and Arizona State.

The focus now shifts to Hofstra, where Harvard will play next Sunday in its third event of the season.

—TONY D. QIAN