2020 NCAA qualifier Phil Conigliaro (Photo/Harvard athletics)Harvard Crimson
“I'm excited for this season for a number of reasons. Obviously, we have not competed in a while, but, more importantly, I feel we've made tremendous strides during a year filled with adversity. I'm not going to put a limit on this team because it's a special group looking to make big jumps. It's going to be a fun year.†– Head Coach Jay Weiss
TOP RETURNERS
The Crimson were forced to sit out last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of the Ivy League, plus Franklin & Marshall. A few key wrestlers in their line-up will be the main anchors for the squad.
- Philip Conigliaro (2020 EIWA 3rd, National Qualifier)
- Yaraslau Slavikouski (2020 EIWA 2nd, National Qualifier)
- AJ Jaffe
- Josh Kim
- Leo Tarantino
KEY DEPARTURES
One positive that came out of missing last season was that Harvard had no losses that would affect their line-up this year. Any wrestler(s) who wanted to return deferred a year of schooling. An extra year to heal up, mature, and develop is never a bad thing.
NEWCOMERS
Bethlehem Catholic product freshman Kenny Herrman is one of the newcomers to look out for. Herrman was a 4x PIAA AAA placer, winning the title his senior year. Ranked as high as third in the country. Herrman will make some noise if he gets the start at 141lb.
Illinois state champion, and two-time runner-up, Diego Sotelo, will battle it out for a chance to be the starter at 125lb.
Alex Whitworth is a new addition to the squad. From Georgia, he was a five-time state champion and two-time Prep All-American. During his senior year, he was ranked as high as thirteenth in the country at 160. Expect to see him at 174lb.
Evan Gleason joins his former high school teammate Kenny Herrman from powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic. Gleason placed at states twice, individually, and has two team gold medals to add to his resume. Look for him in the 165lb weight class.
Cael Berg out of Minnesota will be a fifth new guy to watch. With over 200 career high school wins, the two-time state team champion and two-time individual champion brings his credentials into the middle of the line-up, most likely 157lb.
WRESTLER TO WATCH
Philip Conigliaro, as mentioned, placed third in a talented 165lb weight class in March of 2020. His season was solid enough for a 17th seed at the canceled NCAA Championships. Since then, his improvement has only been able to be seen in freestyle results. Most recently, his third-place finish at the 2021 U.S. Open at 74kg was very eye-opening, considering he had to beat a few NCAA All-Americans to achieve it. Currently, the sophomore is ranked 12th in the country, so expect to see his name early and often in that tough 165lb weight class.
Yaraslau (Yara) Slavikouski is the heavyweight for the Crimson. The Belarussian-born wrestler recently earned a bronze medal at the Belarussian National Championships. His only loss was to a former Olympic Bronze medalist, Ibragim Saidov. Similar to Conigliaro, Yara's most recent results are a good sign of his progression since we've last seen him. He was the tenth seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships before they were canceled after a loss in the EIWA Finals to Lehigh's Jordan Wood. Now, a sophomore, Yara is currently ranked 17th in the nation at heavyweight, which is arguably one of the more entertaining weight classes to watch.
POTENTIAL LINEUP
125: Beau Bayless (Jr)/ Diego Sotelo (Fr)
133: Dillon Murphy (Jr)
141: Michael Jaffe (Jr)/Kenny Herrmann (Fr)
149: Trevor Tarsi (Jr)/Lukus Stricker (Sr)
157: AJ Jaffe (Sr)
165: Phil Conigliaro (So)
174: Josh Kim (So)
184: Leo Tarantino (So)
197: Peter Ferraro (Jr)/Nick Marcenelle (So)
285: Yaraslau Slavikouski (Jr)
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