To maintain excellence is hard. To exceed it is even harder.

But the Harvard wrestling team, led by Coach Jay Weiss, did exactly that.

The Crimson exceeded last year's banner performance to further Harvard's standing among the nation's elite. Both the team and individual achievements of this year's squad made this '98-'99 season one of unparalleled success.

Tri-captain Dustin DeNunzio (141 pounds) and junior Joey Killar (165-pounds) earned All-American honors at the 1999 NCAA Wrestling Championships held at Penn State. It was the first time that two Harvard wrestlers went in the same year. With its strong finish, the Crimson tied Oregon State for No. 20, bettering last year's No. 29.

"For us to have to All-Americans and place in the top twenty with only three wrestlers competing is a huge accomplishment for the program," Weiss said. "We placed in front of six Big 10 schools."

DeNunzio capped off an incredible four years with Harvard, wrestling to a fourth-place finish and becoming only the second Harvard wrestler ever to earn All-American accolades twice. In 1998, DeNunzio placed sixth in the 134-pound weight class to become the first Harvard wrestler in fifteen years to win All-American honors.

DeNunzio defeated Derek Jenkins of Rider in the first round before falling 5-3 to No. 10 seed Tony Deanda of Nebraska. He then rallied with victories over the No. 12, 8, 5, and 2 seeds. The run ended in a tight 4-3 match against Clarion's Mark Angle, the No. 1 seed.

"I am pleased that I came back from the second round loss to win four in a row," DeNunzio said. "In the past I have not responded to loss very well. This just got me over another obstacle. The end results were not what I wanted but I am still pleased."

Killar found similar success as he fought to a sixth place finish in his first trip to Nationals. He came out striking fast, easily winning his first two. In the quarterfinals, however, Killar lost, 12-11, to Kirk White of Boise State. Killar battled back with wins against Sean Morgan of Oregon and No. 6 Mark Samples of Edinboro. He lost his next two but already had qualified for All-American status.

At 197 pounds, sophomore Brad Soltis, the third Harvard wrestler to earn a trip to Penn State, was put to the test immediately and lost to No. 11 seed Chael Sonnen of Oregon. He then put up a strong fight against Mike French of Cal Poly but lost.

Even after the season ended, the honors did not. For his accomplishments at NCAAs and throughout the season, DeNunzio was named the Ivy League and EIWA Wrestler of the Year. He is the first Crimson grappler to be awarded either honor. DeNunzio was chosen as part of the All-Ivy First Team for the third time.

"Harvard has been the best experience of my life," DeNunzio said. Everything--the team, the coaches and even the year I took off--was perfect. Harvard gave me every opportunity to accomplish everything that I could. I am going to miss it."

Kurtz also earned a spot on the Ivy First Team with his 25-7 record and fourth-place finish at Easterns.

Junior tri-captain Fran Volpe was selected to the All-Ivy Second Team for the second consecutive year. Tri-captain Joel Friedman, Soltis and sophomore Matt Picarsic merited Honorable Mention All-Ivy selections.

The team set the tone in November by capturing first place at the Ivy Classic, finishing ahead of rivals Cornell and Penn.