Captains Leave Lasting Legacy

With co-captain J.P. O’Connor’s national championship victory last weekend, The Harvard Crimson has indulged in an outpouring of wrestling coverage. Or at least as the wrestling beat writer, I’ve pushed this coverage to a point bordering on creepy obsession.

But this focus is somewhat understandable. Sports writers love success stories and treasure the idea of reaching that “ultimate goal,” an achievement that only a piece of NCAA hardware or a place on a podium can make tangible.

Yet, in the celebration of O’Connor’s unique feat—the third national championship and first perfect season in Harvard wrestling history—we should not lose sight of the timeless maxim often overlooked in competitive sports: it’s about the journey, not the destination.

By the end of the wrestling championships in Omaha, Neb., the Crimson featured two senior competitors who had arrived at very different finales. As O’Connor (157 lbs.) had his hand raised in triumph, co-captain Louis Caputo (184) was left on the sidelines, contemplating what could have been if not for a second-round exit in the tournament.

“For Louis, I’m heartbroken,” Harvard coach Jay Weiss said. “He’s done everything right to be competitive at a high level—it’s a tough ending.”

But while so much focus rests on these season-ending bouts, no member of Crimson wrestling will suggest that Caputo—a two-time All-American—left anything behind in his Harvard career.

All week, it’s been easy to compare the two wrestlers tied for the most wins in Harvard history—O’Connor and Jesse Jantzen ’04 at 132 apiece—but few have noted that Caputo is next on the list with a career record of 126-35, making the current co-captains the most dominant tandem in program history. With five All-American nods and five first-team All-Ivy selections between them, along with two straight years spent together in the top ten, Caputo and O’Connor mark an historic pairing in Harvard wrestling.

And beyond the duo’s dominance on the mat (in three years of covering the team, I’ve never seen either competitor lose in person), through their friendship and leadership, the two have accomplished more for the Crimson together than either could have done alone—namely by showing other members of the program how tight-knit the team family can become.

“Louis is still one of my best friends, someone I look up to,” O’Connor said.

“I’m just honored to go through the program with [J.P.],” Caputo echoed. “I love him to death. He pushed me, and it made me a better wrestler.”

But this is more than a bromance. The co-captains’ camaraderie and mutual work ethic has attracted others to the program, fostering a genuine sense of community that appeals to recruits.

“They are great guys,” freshman Adam Hogue said. “Both [O’Connor and Caputo] are very willing to help with your technique, but they will also help you get accustomed to something at school.”

And for all the co-captains have given to the program in four years, it seems that they got just as much back. Looking beyond all the accomplishments, others can see just how much Harvard wrestling has changed the grapplers.

“What we had asked more than anything was to help our young boy become a man,” said John O’Connor, J.P.’s father, when reflecting on his son’s choice to attend Harvard. “That’s been a tremendous evolution for him, coming in at 18 years old and developing into a better person…We couldn’t thank all the people that have been around him any more.”

“I feel like I’ve grown up a lot,” Caputo added. “Whatever comes my way, I’ve been through the experience of working hard to achieve my goals.”

Certainly the achievements haven’t come easily. Both co-captains missed significant time due to knee injuries over their careers, with Caputo even withdrawing for a semester to preserve his senior status. And it took John O’Connor a long time to warm to the idea of his son in a perpetual headlock.

“I was concerned about the physical nature [of wrestling] and some of the weight aspects,” said John, a former basketball player. “We just wanted him to be able to stay healthy and injury-free. It’s not necessarily a sport that’s easy to do that in.”

But his son managed to stay on his feet through an undefeated senior season, capping his campaign with something every sportswriter dreams to write about—a hard-fought win for the national championship.

And though only one got to walk away with the trophy, both Caputo and O’Connor leave their names in the record books, and, much more importantly, a legacy that will motivate Harvard grapplers for years to come.

“They’re an inspiration in the room each day,” Hogue said. “[O’Connor and Caputo] are both so successful with the same circumstances, the same training room, that everyone else has. It’s a reminder that if you work hard and are determined, everything is possible.”

For the Crimson co-captains, it seems the journey was well worth it.

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.