Keith earned his lone win of the day with a 5-2 decision over Eric Olanowski, and No. 9 Jantzen followed at 149 with an 11-2 bonus-point victory.

Jantzen’s solid performance paved the way for classmate Peppelman (157), who notched the marquee win of the day by topping 14th-ranked David Cheza, 3-0. Peppelman earned points early from the top position and played solid defense to shut out his opponent.

“[Peppelman] controlled the pace,” Weiss said. “Once you have that lead you can wrestle a different match, and he stayed in position and just looked for the other guy’s mistakes.”

Still, the co-captain felt he had a ways to go before reaching his potential.

“I thought I wrestled hard, and obviously I was happy that I won...but I would have liked to wrestle better,” Peppelman said.

So too would the rest of the team against the Spartans. Harvard dropped its remaining four bouts and ceded the heavyweight forfeit, turning a close match into a 21-point loss.

NO. 6 PENN STATE 45, HARVARD 0

The Crimson opened the day with a difficult task, challenging the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions. Although Weiss did not expect Harvard to keep pace with a Penn State squad boasting six grapplers in the top 15, the coach showed disappointment in his team’s lack of discipline.

“I think what’s upsetting is we focus and put a game plan in, and then we watch and it’s not even being played [out],” Weiss said of the first match.

Penn State cruised through the 10-bout slate, with only Jantzen and Hogue staying within three points of their respective opponents. Perhaps the toughest assignment of the day, though, came for junior Bryan Panzano, who moved up two weight classes to 197. The third-year wrestler went 0-3 on the day as he continues to adjust to a new position.

“Bryan Panzano was our unsung hero,” Peppelman said. “We had a 197-pounder leave the team, and [Panzano] was at 174, so he’s still underweight. His effort was phenomenal.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.