“[The championship] means everything,” O’Connor said. “I’ve been working towards this goal since I was a little kid, and definitely since I stepped on campus at Harvard, so it’s nice to end my college career on that note. Just talking about it puts a huge smile on my face.”

And as rewarding as the victory was for O’Connor, the Crimson program also rejoiced at crowning a third champion alongside John Harkness ’38 and Jesse Jantzen ’04.

“Jesse kind of paved the way in 2004, and people realized that you can set the goal of a national championship at Harvard,” Weiss said. “J.P. did the same thing this weekend. Now we’ve got guys saying, ‘I’m next.’ It’s exciting.”

The Crimson certainly hopes it can maintain this winning attitude, as it bids farewell to co-captain Louis Caputo (184) as well. Caputo—a two-time All-American himself—had a disappointing end to his career, bowing out to longtime nemesis Phil Keddy of Iowa in the second round of the tournament. Yet his sustained excellence through four years promise to influence the next generation of Harvard grapplers, including rookie Steven Keith (125), the Crimson’s only other representative at NCAAs.

“Louis didn’t have the performance he wanted, but that doesn’t change anything in how I look at him or how anyone in the program looks at him,” O’Connor said. “[Caputo] has done as much for Harvard wrestling as anyone has.”

But without question, the day belonged to O’Connor, who earned a place among his long-time heroes by tying Jantzen for the most wins in program history. O’Connor’s career record of 132-16 stands as a testament to four solid years in Cambridge.

“It’s an absolute honor to even be mentioned among those two people [Harkness and Jantzen],” O’Connor said. “The history of Harvard wrestling extends far beyond what I’ve done for the program.”

Yet as O’Connor hangs up his Crimson singlet on a perfect season and a storied career, the three-time All-American leaves a truly singular legacy, both on and off the mat.

“You know how I feel about him,” Weiss said of his co-captain. “He is a better person than he is a wrestler, and he’s a national champion.”

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