JESSE JANTZEN
1/10/03

By Kelly-Ann Franklin

Almost every athlete dreams of making it big – playing professionally or, even better, representing their country on the biggest stage of all, the Olympic Games. But for Shoreham’s Jesse Jantzen, the Olympics are more than just a dream: They’re a potential reality.

Jantzen, who attends Harvard University, is good enough to win the NCAA Division I wrestling championship in his 149-pound weight class this March, and, according to his coach, is good enough to carry his talents to the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Jantzen wrestles Larkin in the semifinals at the Cliff keen Las Vegas Invitational on December 7th

"His ultimate goal is [the Olympics], but there are a lot of things underneath" that have to come first, said Harvard coach Jay Weiss. Jantzen’s first goal, Weiss said, is to win the NCAA tournament this spring. According to Jantzen, he should be ranked in the top three come tournament time. "If everything works out," he said, "I think I have a good shot at winning, but a lot of things factor in" like staying healthy and continuing to work hard at being the best he can be.

On December 7, Jantzen placed third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, where he recorded two major decisions and two technical falls with one pin, going 6-1 in the tournament. He beat Travis Shufelt twice during the event – 11-2 in the final and 10-7 in the quarterfinal. His only loss was in the semifinal to last year’s NCAA tournament champion, Eric Larkin, a senior at Arizona State and the No. 1 wrestler in the nation. Jantzen is ranked third nationally. The junior co-captain is also No. 1 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association rankings for his weight class, while Harvard, as a team, sits in fourth place.

"I was a little disappointed [with the Las Vegas meet] because I wanted to win," Jantzen said from school during a phone interview this week. Jantzen is busy studying for finals and working on a 20-page paper due next week. "I lost to a guy I had beaten last year at the same tournament."

Cheer up, Jesse, you still may have a chance to face him again. According to Weiss, an all-star match on Feb. 3 in Delaware could pit the top two wrestlers against each other. Jantzen, being No. 3, could get a shot at Larkin if the No. 2 guy doesn’t go.

"He and the top two guys, they’ll be banging heads come March," Weiss said. "[For the all-star match] they’ll try to get the top two guys. If Larkin commits and this other guy doesn’t, Jesse is next in line."

As a freshman, Jantzen was the conference runner-up in his weight class with a 24-5 record and he went 2-2 in the NCAA Division I Tournament. At Shoreham-Wading River High School, Jantzen went 221-3 in four years and is the all-time winningest high school wrestler on Long Island. He won four state championships and had 163 consecutive victories – both state records.

"Someone like him comes along only once in every 10 or 20 years," Weiss said. "He’s got it all, and it’s not just talent alone. He’s got the mental aspect and a work ethic second to none."

But Jantzen had to learn a few things along the way.

"I think the biggest thing he had to realize is, here you’ve got a guy who hasn’t lost since the eighth grade, and he loses a match" in college, Weiss said. "Dealing with that aspect is very big. There aren’t too many guys who go their whole high school career without a loss."

During Jantzen’s sophomore season, he was a unanimous first-team All-America pick, having been defeated only three times. Two of those times were by the national champ in his weight class. Not bad, and after the season ended he went on to wrestle in a pair of national tournaments, placing fifth and fourth. Not good enough to net him a trip to the world championships last summer, but good enough for him to have a legitimate shot at the U.S. Olympic team for next year.

"I’m definitely going to be training for [the Olympics]," Jantzen said. "Next year, I may take the year off for training because I want to be there for the 2004 and 2008 Olympics."