Meltzer showed tremendous promise with his fifth place finish at 133 pounds.
The most pleasant surprise, however, came in the 197-pound class. PJ Jones had been alternating with sophomore Eddie Jones (no relation) for the 184-pound spot. This week, it was PJ who moved up a weight class to 197 pounds. Nonetheless, he performed exceptionally well, going in unseeded and finishing fifth, as well as avenging a couple of defeats from earlier this season.
“[PJ’s performance] really meant a lot to me,” Weiss said. “All the matches he won weren’t close.”
The entire day was marred by the bizarre accident in Germakian’s opening 125-pound match, which would turn out to be the last of his career.
Five seconds into the match, the fourth-seeded Germakian went in to shoot at the same time as his opponent, Lehigh’s Terrence Clendonin. The two wrestlers collided, Clendonin’s cheek bone on Germakian’s forehead, and the collision opened a huge gash on Germakian’s skull.
The Harvard senior tried to continue, but he bled through the bandage and was forced to forfeit the match. Clendonin went on to finish third and qualify for NCAAs.
According to Weiss, Germakian had been wrestling exceptionally well going in to EIWAs and would have likely finished in the top three and qualified had he not been injured.
“My heart goes out to him,” Weiss said.
With Germakian out, Harvard did not earn any points at the 125-pound-class, which in part explains the Crimson’s fifth-place finish.
“We exceeded other people’s expectations, but we didn’t exceed our own,” O’Donnell said.
Both O’Donnell and Jantzen will now begin extensive preparation for the NCAA championships.
Although Jantzen had considered taking next year off to train for the Olympics, he indicated that he will likely still be around to lead the team next year.
“I’m not 100 percent sure, but I’m probably going to stay in school next year,” Jantzen said.
Jantzen will continue to train for the 2004 Olympics and try to make the team, but he is more optimistic about his chances in 2008.
—Staff writer David A. Weinfeld can be reached at weinfeld@fas.harvard.edu.