"The group of freshmen did all the right things," said Mosley."They will be quite a group to watch over the next few years."
At the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas in early December, Harvard again proved its toughness, placing 13th out of 47 teams. Killar took second and Mosley placed third, both against some of the top-ranked wrestlers in the nation.
Later in the month, the Crimson finished a solid 18th at the Midlands tournament in Northwestern. Despite taking only five wrestlers, the Crimson edged out rivals Lehigh and Cornell--which both fielded full teams--and beat Iowa twice in its two head-to-head match-ups with the Hawkeye grapplers.
The Crimson was led by the dominating trio of Killar, Mosley and Rechul, who finished third, fourth and seventh, respectively.
In January, the team went 2-2 at the Virginia Duals, one of the toughest tournaments of the season, edging out both Ohio and Hofstra for the victories, but falling to Edinboro and Virginia Tech.
Despite continual injuries and a shifting lineup that posed mental obstacles throughout the season, the Crimson finished the winter with a 6-3 record. The team easily dominated Army, Boston College, Boston University, Columbia and Princeton throughout January and February and pulled out an exciting one-point thriller over Brown.
Later in the season, however, the team found more difficulty against conference rivals Lehigh, Penn and Cornell, three of the nation's top wrestling programs.
Ending the dual meet season on a three-match win streak, the team headed to Easterns in the beginning of March with much anticipation and excitement. The Crimson came home on a wave of momentum after winning fourth overall with four NCAA berths and seven top-six finishes. Top finishes by Killar, Mosley, Rechul and Odom earned the group a trip to the NCAA Championships.
Even after the season ended, the honors did not. Four Crimson grapplers--more than any other team in the Ivy League or the EIWA conference--were awarded Academic All-American honors for their achievements both on and off the mats.
Junior Matt Picarsic led the way, earning a place on the Academic All-America Second Team. Mosley, Kurtz and Rechul all were distinguished with honorable mention status.
Odom and Killar were named to the All-Ivy First Team, while Mosley earned a spot of the All-Ivy Second Team. Rhoades, Picarsic, Kurtz, O'Donnell and Rechul all garnered honorable mention accolades for their exceptional wrestling. In addition, freshman Max Odom was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year for such an extraordinary first season.
Although the success of the season and the tremendous impact of the freshmen leaves the program with much to look forward to next season, the team will also suffer a huge loss with the graduation of its core group of seniors--Killar, Mosley, Kurtz, Tom Kiler, Nate Ackerman and Brett Williams.
"Every year we have been improving, and I know that the team will continue to do so in the coming seasons," Killar said. "It has been a lot of fun. I wish it didn't have to end."
"While having them leave is a big loss for the program, there is also a huge gain in what they have done and the standards they have set for the younger guys," Weiss said.
Yet with some great recruits coming in and many star wrestlers returning, next season definitely looks to be a promising one for the Crimson.
"Although we do lose our seniors, both Fran Volpe and Kevin El-Hayek will return from their year off, and we are bringing in another outstanding recruiting class," Weiss said. "I am thrilled with the performance of the younger guys this past year and look forward to watching them do even more damage next season."