Wrestling Pins Down Brown, Boston University

Harvard co-captain Steven Keith tallied his 100th career win after a 7-2 decision over Brown’s Cortlandt Choate at the Malkin Athletic Center Saturday afternoon. The senior went undefeated for the day, securing his 101st victory a few hours later against Boston University’s Tyler Scotton. Keith now joins the ranks of teammate and co-captain Walter Peppelman in the 100-win club. Keith’s squad ended up winning both of Saturday’s contests, handily taking care of each opponent.

HARVARD 31, BOSTON UNIVERSITY 6

Harvard (7-5, 4-4 EIWA) traveled just down the road to take on the Terriers (7-9) after beating Brown on Saturday.

Freshman Jeffrey Ott opened the match with a 14-0 major decision, going undefeated for the day. Senior Shay Warren continued the Crimson lead after registering a takedown in overtime, securing a 4-2 decision in the 133 weight class.

Keith racked in a third victory for Harvard as well as his 101st career win after defeating his opponent, 4-0.

“Steven went out and did what Steven does,” Peppelman said. “He won a good match against a tough opponent.”

Freshman Todd Preston also went undefeated for the day after clinching a close 8-6 victory over Boston University’s Nick Tourville.

“Preston really shined and beat a top competitor, a junior who’s been in the lineup for the past two years for BU,” Peppelman said. “Todd stepped it up and won there, and that was really big for Todd and good for the team as well.”

At 157, Peppelman pinned his opponent in the opening period. The senior has yet to lose a match in a dual meet this season.

“Luckily I was able to secure a pin, which was good for me,” Peppelman said. “It was a personal victory having lost to that guy before, so that was kind of exciting.”

The Terriers snagged their first decision in the 165 weight class, but the Crimson answered with a takedown by junior Cameron Croy, who secured a 6-1 win.

Freshman Michael Mocco hit the mat for his second college match but this time was able to walk away with a victory.

“Mocco did a really great job responding to injuries,” Peppelman said. “Michael broke his neck in the beginning of the year, and this weekend was his first time back wrestling in competition, so for him to be the winner over a tough competitor in a high pressure situation was phenomenal.”

Boston University picked up the two final bouts, but Harvard ended the meet with a definitive 31-6 victory.

“I’d really like to point out that the freshmen did a really good job,” Peppelman said. “Half of the wrestlers competing against BU were freshmen, so it’s really good to get that big win with such a young team.”

HARVARD 21, BROWN 11

The Crimson took down the Bears (8-8, 2-6), 21-11, winning seven out of ten bouts on the day.

The lineup began with Ott wrestling at 125 against William Waterson. Ott secured a 6-0 decision for Harvard, his fourth straight win over the past two weekends.

“I knew 125 was a big match with Jeff Ott,” Crimson coach Jay Weiss said. “I wanted him wrestling first, and he wrestled awesome, so that was a big one for us… he’s a fire plug. He goes hard all the time.”

After falling to Brown in a close 3-2 decision at 133, Harvard took back the lead after Keith registered his 100th win at 141.

“I mean [Keith] always controls bouts,” Weiss said. “He did a great job…it’s his 100th win, you know that’s pretty special. That’s a lot. To get 100 wins in college, that’s a lot. Walter and Steven doing it this year, that was tremendous.”

Preston extended the Crimson lead, 9-3, with a strong 11-5 win over the Bears’ Zach Rees.

Peppelman secured a 9-2 decision at 157, bringing his season record to 12-2.

“Walter, obviously he’s a leader,” Weiss said. “He did a great job and went and got a good win.”

Brown responded with a major decision over freshman Devon Gobbo, decreasing the scoring gap to a five-point difference.

When Croy snagged another win for Harvard, the Bears answered with a decision of their own over Mocco. The bout was Mocco’s first college match.

“Mocco at 184, he’s not our starter,” Weiss said. “[It’s the] first time he’s wrestled all year…he wanted to jump out, and he asked to wrestle, and I couldn’t ask for anything better going up against their best guy. He did a nice job and he hung in there.”

Sophomore James Fox and freshman Nick Gajdzik rounded out the Crimson victory, each securing decisions against his respective opponent. Fox’s match came down to the final seconds, but the sophomore was able to finish out the bout with a win, 3-2. Gajdzik’s 5-2 decision brought the final score to 21-11.

—Staff writer Kelley Guinn McArtor can be reached at kelleyguinnmcartor@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @kgmcrimson.