This year, the EIWA will send 36 wrestlers to the NCAA championships. The top two finishers in each weight class receive automatic bids and the remaining 16 bids are chosen by the coaches. For Harvard, Jantzen is likely the only wrestler who will not have to have a very strong weekend in order to advance.

This system means that every weight class sends a minimum of two wrestlers to NCAAs, but most send three or four.

125 lbs.—David Germakian

EIWA-No. 5 Germakian (12-7), who finished fifth in last year’s tourney, has proven himself to be a consistent competitor for the Crimson. The senior has never been pinned or lost on a technical fall. So far this year, he has faced all four of his EIWA opponents ranked ahead of him in the conference, and only won once. The victory came in a forfeit from Lehigh’s Mario Stuart. Cornell’s No. 2 Travis Lee will most likely take the crown in this category, and Germakian will have to score several upsets in order to get an automatic bid. There is little chance he will receive a nod from the coaches. Last year, Germakian lost to Lee 10-2 in the quarterfinals.

133 lbs.—Max Meltzer

Meltzer (16-9) has shown the inconsistency common among freshman at times—he pinned Hofstra’s No. 13 Ricky La Forge and was pinned by East Stroudsburg’s Jeff Smith in the same day. But Meltzer, now No. 4 in the conference, seems to have grown steadier. This year he has faced six nationally-ranked opponents, and beaten two of them. His first such victory came against North Carolina’s No. 17 Evan Sola, whom Meltzer defeated 4-3 in the East Stroudsburg Open. Meltzer has also defeated two opponents ranked in the EIWA, including Cornell’s Alejandro Alvarez, who is No. 2 in the conference. Despite his inexperience, Meltzer has a strong shot of making it to the championship match. Neither Penn’s Matt Eveleth or Lehigh’s No. 6 Cory Cooperman were able to score more than a major decision over Meltzer, both of whom he saw early in the year.

141 lbs.—Joe Turilli

The loss of freshman Mike Baria to a leg injury in the team’s final day of competition against Brown provided an unexpected setback. Like Meltzer, Baria struggled early before coming into his own late in the year. Turilli (1-2) has only seen competition once this season. At the East Stroudsburg Open, he defeated Joey Camacho 13-2 in his first match, but lost in the next round and in the consolation match by scores of 7-4 and 7-3, respectively. Still, the weight class remains wide open, with just one EIWA opponent—Army’s No. 12 Phil Sampson—nationally ranked.

149 lbs.—Jesse Jantzen

The record speaks for itself. Jantzen (24-1), the third-ranked wrestler in the nation, has lost just once this season. It came at the hands of Arizona State’s No. 1 Eric Larkin in the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Jantzen lost to the No. 2 wrestler in the nation—Minnesota’s Jared Lawrence—during the NCAA tournament last season, where he placed third. This was the best finish for a Harvard wrestler since 1953. Last year’s EIWA champion, Jantzen should have no problem repeating the feat. He has only trailed an EIWA opponent once this year and has defeated five nationally-ranked wrestlers. Even if Jantzen does not get the automatic bid, he will almost assuredly receive the nod from the coaches. His biggest threats are Cornell’s No. 9 Dustin Manotti and Penn’s No. 19 Jody Gluricich, whom Jantzen beat by major decision and technical fall, respectively.

157 lbs.—Jon Mankovich

The emergence of Mankovich (4-3) as the go-to guy at this weight class has been a bit of a surprise for the Crimson. The team originally expected Odom to fill the spot, but lost him to a shoulder injury incurred during a preseason tournament several Harvard wrestlers participated in. Following Odom was freshman J.T. Young, who was also injured in the early going. Co-captain Nick Picarsic quickly filled the void, but Weiss opted to go with Mankovich, a sophomore, at the weight class after the two split time on the mat. So far this year, Mankovich’s toughest conference opponent has been Cornell’s Gabe Webster, who defeated Mankovich 7-2 and is third in the EIWA. Despite his short tenure, Mankovich still had time to defeat Columbia’s EIWA-No. 5 Dustin Tillman. Mankovich benefis from the lack of a dominant force in this weigt class. There is only one nationally-ranked wrestler at 157, Lehigh’s Derek Zinck, but Mankovich must advance deep into the tournament to wrestle beyond this weekend.

165 lbs.—Robbie Griffin

In his last tournament, the senior Griffin (8-11) will look to improve on last year’s fifth-place performance. But such an accomplishment will be extremely tough. He has only beaten one conference-ranked wrestler this year, Cornell’s Scott Roth. Like the team, Griffin has improved dramatically as the season has progressed, but still remains inconsistent and has lost several close bouts, including one to Brown’s Chris Ayer’s 6-4 in OT two weeks ago. Lehigh’s No. 3 Troy Letters should win this category, and Cornell’s No. 14 Matt Palmer will probably meet him in the championship bout. Griffin will probably have to upset one of these wrestlers to make it to the NCAAs.

174 lbs.—Pat O’Donnell