Photo courtesy of Tabitha Wilson.
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OMAHA, Neb. – Top-seed J.P.
O'Connor of the Harvard wrestling team advanced to the
semifinals at 157 pounds at the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships
at the Qwest Center. With the win, O'Connor is guaranteed
All-American honors.
The Oxford, N.Y., native won his quarterfinal match over Justin
Gaejthe of Northern Colorado, 8-1. O'Connor scored 20 seconds
into match and rode him out for the rest of the period. He was
called for locking his hands at time expired, giving Gaejthe his
only point of the match. In the second, O'Connor chose bottom
and escaped in 20 seconds. Gaejthe went for a shot late in the
second, but O'Connor grabbed his ankle and scored at the edge
of the mat. He scores another take down in the third and adds a
point for riding time to finish out the match.
O'Connor had advanced to the quarters three times before
but was unsuccessful. He will face American's Steve Fittery
in the semifinals. He is 33-0 on the season and has 130 career
victories. Two shy of Jesse Jantzen's record of 132.
He is only the second Harvard wrestler to earn All-America
honors three times in his career.
Louis Caputo was upset in the consolation round by
Cornell's Steve Bosak. After a scoreless first period, Bosak
put a point on the board with the escape. At the edge of the mat,
Bosak clipped Caputo's ankles and pulled him down to his back
for the takedown and pin. Caputo, a two-time All-American, finishes
the season with a 23-5 record and 126 career victories.
Wrestling gets back underway at the Qwest Center at 7 p.m. All
semifinal matches will air live on ESPNU and online at espn360.com.
Results
125 – Steven Keith
fell to No. 12 Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), 4-0
fell to Ryan Mango (Stanford), F, 3:56
157 – No. 1 J.P. O'Connor
defeated Vincent Salminen (North Dakota State), 15-2
defeated Jake Kerr (Iowa), 8-1
defeated Justin Gaejthe (Northern Colorado), 8-1
184 – No. 8 Louis Caputo
defeated Austin Trottman (App. State), 5-2
fell to No. 9 Phil Keddy (Iowa), 5-2
fell to Steve Bosak (Cornell), F, 3:44
