ESU Open

We opened up this weekend at the ESU Open. I was eagerly awaiting to get started this season. I knew the preseason was a good one and I wanted to see the guys in action. JP O'Connor picked up where he left off and placed first and looked real good doing it. Corey Jantzen placed 3rd in his first collegiate tournament. He lost a tough one in the semis but looked very tough throughout the day. Andy Olsen, another freshman, placed 4th and did a great job. We went without 3 of our best wrestlers. Robbie Preston will join us second semester while Andrew Flanagan (157) and Louis Caputo (184) are nursing injuries and should rejoin lineup very soon. Everyone looked good. It was a crazy tournament because there were so many entries that mid afternoon they just stopped having wrestle-back matches. We would've never finished the tournament if we didn't do that. Unfortunately that cut into some matches our guys could've had though. If they lost before the semis, they were done. We definitely have some work to do before Vegas. This week is a short week with Thanksgiving so its very important that we are efficient in our workouts. We give them Thursday, Friday and Saturday off with our return practice on Sunday evening which will be open to the public. We got through the tournament pretty much injury free. Andy Olsen sprained his knee in his last match but hopefully it isn't too bad. That's one of the biggest concerns in these early tournaments but we got through pretty smoothly. Vegas is looming and we need to perform well!

Season is upon us

We are just about to start our competition season. This is a great time because everyone is so excited to get after it. Its been a long preseason and in my opinion, one of our best to date. The guys worked very hard and very smart. We did some different things this year which I feel really paid off. We are somewhat healthy, aside from a few bumps. Our main problem this preseason has been skin infections which have kept a large number of guys off the mat. I think it came at a good time though so it was a good break. This team is really coming together. We have such a good group that is bonding. I always tell them that you can do special things with special people. Our young guys are doing a great job acclimating to college life on and off the mat. We have gotten over a big hump now that our competition schedule is upon us. Now they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Academically they all have been terrific, which obviously puts a smile on my face. New competition will be great from them all since I am sure they are feeling the growing pains of becoming a collegiate wrestler. Things pick up quickly as we break for Thanksgiving after the ESU tournament and then head to Vegas for a big tournament. Our leaders are doing a great job, anchored by captain Louis Caputo '09. Robbie Preston '09 is our other captain and he will be joining us 2nd semester. Many other guys on the team have stepped up into a leadership role with has been outstanding. J.P. O'Connor '10 is starting the season ranked #5 in the NCAA and is a great leader of our team. We will make bigger strides once we start competing!

We had a great preseason. It was four weeks of 4 days a week of lifting followed by conditioning and/or drilling on the mat. There was a slight change in plans with our conditioning as we found out the outdoor track was under construction and the indoor track was in use by the track team. Most of our workouts were supposed to be timed sprints on track. So we shifted everything to the stadium and did TONS of stadium work. I personally believe this is the best off the mat workout we do. The guys definitely got a lot better and by the end were just killing the stadium! We actually did so much work on the stadium, it caught the eye of ESPN the Magazine. Tomorrow (Wednesday, October 18) ESPN Mag is coming to Cambridge to do a photo shoot of our guys working out on the stadium! I am really excited about this opportunity. Our guys are going to the tanning bed in the morning before the shoot (just kidding).
We started official practice this past Monday. Basically we are in the room now everyday. We are still down at the Murr Center so its taking some getting used to training down here for real. Our move back to the MAC is scheduled for this coming Sunday so I will be much happier once we are back 'home'.
Everyone is healthy and looking great! Now we have to keep it that way. more to come. . . .

This is a blog for the 2007-2008 Harvard Wrestling season. It promises to be a great year so we will be documenting our season as we go along. We are excited to add 2 new assistant coaches in Pat Owen (Michigan) and Darrell Vasquez (Cal Poly). Jesse Jantzen '04 is back again as a volunteer assistant as he trains for a 2008 Olympic berth. Stay tuned for more exciting news to follow.