O'Connor named EIWA Wrestler of the Year; Dake named Freshman of the Year
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by John Harmon
Harvard senior J. P. O'Connor has been named EIWA Wrestler of the Year, following his championship performance last weekend at the NCAA Championships in Omaha, Neb. O'Connor was undefeated at 157 pounds this season, finishing with a record of 35-0.
O'Connor is the third NCAA wrestling champion in Harvard history, and the third three-time All-Amercan. He placed fifth in 2007 and sixth in 2008, both times at 149 pounds. Previous Harvard champions were John Harkness in 1938 and Jesse Jantzen in 2004.
After defeating Cal Poly's Chase Pami 6-4 in the championship final, O'Connor comment in his post-match press conference. "I just had the fire and determination to win it this year. I truly believed that I could win it during my sophomore and junior years, but I just didn't turn out that way, which was disappointing. I tried to turn it into a positive and thought about it every day."
Cornell's Kyle Dake has been named EIWA Freshman of the Year following his championship performance last weekend at the NCAA Championships in Omaha, Neb. Dake, a true freshman, had a 34-2 record at 141 pounds this season, and became the first true freshman to win a national title in five years.
Dake is the fourth wrestler in the last five years to win the award, and follows Troy Nickerson (2006), Mack Lewnes (2008) and Cam Simaz (2009).
After defeating Montell Marion of Iowa 7-3 in the final, Dake had this to say to a reporter.
"Yeah, I won a national title this year, but I wanted to be an undefeated national champ. That's something I can work for and something that I'm going to work for. I said it at the beginning of the year in WIN Magazine that I want to be a four-time national champ, and you got to get one to get four so I have three more to go.
Looking over in the corner and seeing coach Koll and coach (Jeremy) Spates jumping in the air and then right behind them you see this sea of red shirts with a big white 'C' in the front of them, everyone going nuts," Dake said. "It was loud in there. It was pretty cool. I don't know how else to explain it. It was really cool.
O'Connor is the third NCAA wrestling champion in Harvard history, and the third three-time All-Amercan. He placed fifth in 2007 and sixth in 2008, both times at 149 pounds. Previous Harvard champions were John Harkness in 1938 and Jesse Jantzen in 2004.
After defeating Cal Poly's Chase Pami 6-4 in the championship final, O'Connor comment in his post-match press conference. "I just had the fire and determination to win it this year. I truly believed that I could win it during my sophomore and junior years, but I just didn't turn out that way, which was disappointing. I tried to turn it into a positive and thought about it every day."
Cornell's Kyle Dake has been named EIWA Freshman of the Year following his championship performance last weekend at the NCAA Championships in Omaha, Neb. Dake, a true freshman, had a 34-2 record at 141 pounds this season, and became the first true freshman to win a national title in five years.
Dake is the fourth wrestler in the last five years to win the award, and follows Troy Nickerson (2006), Mack Lewnes (2008) and Cam Simaz (2009).
After defeating Montell Marion of Iowa 7-3 in the final, Dake had this to say to a reporter.
"Yeah, I won a national title this year, but I wanted to be an undefeated national champ. That's something I can work for and something that I'm going to work for. I said it at the beginning of the year in WIN Magazine that I want to be a four-time national champ, and you got to get one to get four so I have three more to go.
Looking over in the corner and seeing coach Koll and coach (Jeremy) Spates jumping in the air and then right behind them you see this sea of red shirts with a big white 'C' in the front of them, everyone going nuts," Dake said. "It was loud in there. It was pretty cool. I don't know how else to explain it. It was really cool.
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