But the Crimson battled back, with Ogunwole and Preston winning by one point each. Ogunwole eked out a win against Tyler Shovlin, 7-6, and Preston followed with a win over Mike Mormile, 6-5.
The six points notched by Ogunwole and Preston were the last team points the Crimson was to see on the day, however. The Big Red rolled through the remainder of matches and only stretched the point gap.
“Right now, Robbie Preston and Bode can go against anyone in the country,” Weiss said. “[As a whole,] of course, we’re not where we want to be. We still have work to do.”
SACRED HEART 22, HARVARD 19
Friday night’s contest against Sacred Heart (6-8) was the most successful for Harvard, as the team bounced back from a lackluster effort against Columbia despite one forfeit in the 174-lb. weight class.
Preston won a crucial major decision against Mike Arone to give the Crimson a 19-18 lead, winning 13-0.
The Crimson’s lead was short-lived, though, as the Pioneers’ Kyle McCarthy answered back with a major decision win of his own over Kakesako, holding the sophomore to just one point as McCarthy tallied 10.
Senior Jonas Corl took the mat at heavyweight, replacing Ogunwole for the night and winning a tight 2-1 contest in overtime against Payam Zamminpour.
Colgan, DeNunzio, and Matt Button all contributed points for Harvard, winning 4-3. Baria ousted his opponent in a 10-4 win.
COLUMBIA 36, HARVARD 6
The Crimson’s opening match of the weekend against Columbia (7-3, 3-2 Ivy) was a low point, Weiss said, despite typical wins from Preston and Ogunwole.
The two sophomores posted the only wins against the Lions, with Preston defeating Jeff Sato 2-0 and Ogunwole gaining a 6-2 decision on Bart Seemen.
Columbia garnered the other eight victories on the day.
“We wrestled totally different against Columbia [as compared to against Sacred Heart],” Weiss said. “I’d be worried if we wrestled the way we did against Columbia all four bouts. This is that time of the year when [our wrestlers] question themselves, and they have to realize that this is the time of year when everything matters.”
—Staff writer Megha Parekh can be reached parekh@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Pablo S. Torre can be reached at torre@fas.harvard.edu.