TULSA, Okla. – Harvard wrestling wrapped up the action in the first day of competition at the NCAA Championships with three victories. Seniors Phil Conigliaro and Yaraslau Slavikouski will both compete tomorrow after picking up victories on day one.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Josh Kim kicked off the action in the tournament for the Crimson, taking care of business against Cole Moody of Wyoming in the prelim match to the 165 lb. Championship bracket. Kim took down Moody three times to come away with a 7-3 decision and move on.
 
Diego Sotelo was next up in the 125 lb. bracket, taking on Patrick McKee of Minnesota. Sotelo was able to take down Mckee once and grabbed another escape point, but couldn't add up enough to earn the win, falling 12-3 in the first round. Kim suffered the same fate in the 165 lb. Championship, suffering a 10-2 loss to the first-seeded David Carr of Iowa State. Both wrestlers were slotted in the consolation bracket in the second session of the day.
 
Phil Conigliaro battled in his opening round matchup with the nine seed out of Illinois, but couldn't recover from an early deficit, falling into the consolation bracket after a 14-4 result. Conigliaro rebounded with a victory in the consolation bracket, earning a 6-4 decision over his Penn opponent to move on.
 
Senior heavyweight, Yaraslau Slavikouski, earned a win in the first round in the 285 lb. bracket with a 4-2 decision over his Penn St. opponent. In the second round, Slavikouski met the 11-seed, Trent Hillger from Wisconsin in what was an absolute battle on the mat. Both wrestlers refused to go down or leverage any advantage to the opposition. In the end, it was Hillger who moved on after a narrow 1-0 victory. Yara will still have a chance to compete tomorrow in the consolation bracket of the 285 lb. division.
 

TOMORROW'S MATCHUPS

Session 1 | Beginning at 12:00 PM EST (ESPN+)
 

174 lb. Consolation Round 2

(24) Phil Conigliaro [HARV] vs. (23) Mickey O'Malley [DREX]
 

285 lb. Consolation Round 2

(6) Yaraslau Slavikouski [HARV] vs. (21) N. Taylor [LEH]
 
 

125 lb. Championship 

Round 1 | (11) P. McKee [MIN] def. Diego Sotelo [HARV]; MD, 12-3
Consolation Round 1 | (6) S. Poulin [UNCO] def. (22) Diego Sotelo [HARV]; Dec. 11-4
 

165 lb. Championship

Preliminary Match | (33) Josh Kim [HARV] def. (32) C. Moody [WYO]; Dec. 7-3
Round 1 | (1) D. Carr. [ISU] def. (33) Josh Kim [HARV]; MD, 10-2
Consolation Round 1 | (16) J. Ogunsanya [COL] def. (33) Josh Kim [HARV]; SV-1 3-1
 

174 lb. Championship

Round 1 | (9) E. Ruth [ILL] def. (24) Phil Conigliaro [HARV]; MD, 14-4
Consolation Round 1 | (24) Phil Conigliaro [HARV]  def. (25) N. Incontrera [PENN]; Dec. 6-4
 

285 lb. Championship

Round 1 | (6) Yaraslau Slavikouski [HARV] def. (27) B. Golden [PSU]; Dec. 4-2
Round 2 | (11) T. Hillger [WIS]  def. (6) Yaraslau Slavikouski [HARV]; Dec. 1-0