Once the bouts began, however, the final result was hardly in question. On the strength of an overall 16-0 run to start the meet, Harvard turned in a dominating performance against VMI.

“VMI has really tough and strong kids, but we were able to outwrestle them,” Fox said. “We were also able to get a lot of bonus points.”

The match ended with a bang as junior Josh Popple and Ng pinned their opponents at 197 lb. and 285 lb., respectively. These bouts followed Mocco’s 8-7 defeat in the 184 lb. category, which put the overall score at 19-12.

At 157 lb., Tarsi also earned a win by fall after only 49 seconds.

Tarsi’s victory was the final act of the 16-point streak that began with Osleeb’s 6-2 decision over the Keydets’ Hunter Starner in the 133 lb. weight class. Wrestling at 141 lb., Preston contributed another 6-2 win to tie the meet, and Stager forged an overall lead with a 13-5 victory in the 149 lb. category. 

A 11-4 loss by Grimaldi halted the momentum—but not for long. With a 7-5 victory, the first-year Johnson established a 19-9 lead and extended a personal three-match win streak in dual meets.

“We believe we can win,” Fox said. “We’ve proven that to ourselves this weekend in our performance. It’s just going to take a little bit more effort from each of our nine starters…to win those close matches.”

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sdanello@college.harvard.edu.