Wrestler Living Lifelong Dream

It’s the big day. The crowd begins to cheer as they await the match. Cameras flash as he walks through the tunnel. He bounces around to prepare himself.

“Wrestling at 125 pounds from Harvard,” the announcer proclaims, “is Steeevvveennn Keith!”

Maybe it wasn’t that dramatic the first time freshman Steven Keith stepped onto the mat as a Crimson wrestler, but for him, it was the confirmation of all of the hard work he had put into the sport up to that point.

“It was a thrill stepping onto the mat for the first time,” Keith said. “It was enjoyable, and I just couldn’t believe I was wearing a Harvard singlet. It was my life goal.”

And Keith has taken full advantage of this opportunity. The Shoreham, N.Y. native currently has a 14-9 record on the season. Even though he only tips the scales at 125 pounds, there’s a lot more fight in him than you might expect at first glance.

Keith got his start in wrestling when he was just five years old, weighing in at much less than 125. Don Jantzen, a family friend and the high school coach in his district, suggested to Keith and his parents that he wrestle and invited him to try it out in kindergarten. This was the start of a relationship that would help him to improve on his wrestling skills and to accomplish his mission of wrestling for Harvard.

“I noticed that he was very aggressive and not afraid to work hard and keep coming at people,” Jantzen commented. “He likes to keep going after his opponent in a match, and the more you attack, the more you score.”

Jantzen is no stranger to the wrestling scene. His sons, Jesse and Corey, have donned the Crimson singlet. The older of the two, Jesse, graduated in ’04 and Corey will be returning to Harvard as a junior next year.

“He was influenced by my two older boys,” acknowledged Jantzen, whose eldest son captured a national title as a member of the Crimson. “He saw the progress and the success the two boys had and looked at that as something he wanted. He would come along to the tournaments with us and developed the same work ethic they had.”

His high school coach also noted Keith’s “understanding at an early age that he needed to be around top-level people and ask them questions to excel.” Keith soaked up the talent around him, improving tremendously over the years.

“Steven has been fortunate enough throughout high school to have a lot of great coaches make him better and mentor him,” his dad, Glenn Keith remarked. “They’ve embraced Steven, and if it wasn’t for those people, he wouldn’t be the wrestler he is today.”

With the training of his coach, Keith dominated in high school, winning the state title as a sophomore and a senior, going 185-15 over his career, including 46-0 his senior season. But the transition from high school wrestling to college wrestling is a big one, and Keith admitted that it was a challenge for him in the beginning.

“Transitioning from high school to college was a little difficult, but it was a pretty smooth transition with the help of the Harvard coaches,” Keith revealed. “I’ve been changing some technique and focusing on my mindset when I step onto the mat.”

His new teammates and coach have been helping him to improve and realize the potential he has. They’ve worked with him to adjust his skills, style, and mental stamina to succeed as a Crimson wrestler. Particularly, his coach, Jay Weiss, and co-captain, JP O’Connor, have watched him progress.

“We knew of his talents and his accomplishments in high school and that he had a strong work ethic,” Weiss said. “The big challenge is how quickly someone can adapt to the college style, but he trains hard and has the intangibles to do well. When we went down to Dallas in January, we played Oklahoma and he beat No. 13 [Jarrod Patterson]. That gave him the confidence and it was a big step.”

“It’s been great having Steven on the team,” O’Connor agreed. “He reminds me a lot of myself when I was a freshman with the passion and attitude he shows for the sport. I’m inspired by what Steven and the other freshman do.”

But Keith isn’t ready to rest on his laurels. He still has three seasons left on the team to improve and has big plans for after college.

“After college, I hope to still be training for wrestling,” Keith said. “I want to go to the Olympic trials and have a shot at making the Olympic team.”

“He’s got a bright future ahead of him,” O’Connor added. “He can do anything he wants to do. He can get the national title before he gets out of here and get All-American a couple of times.”

The Harvard wrestling team will be seeking new leaders on the mat with seniors O’Connor and Louis Caputo leaving, and it looks like Keith is just the man to do it. With this new find, the Crimson men’s wrestling team may have just struck gold.