By Mike Finn

Considering Jesse Jantzen is only one of two Harvard  NCAA champions, younger brother Corey knows there will be natural comparisons to him and his older sibling, who completed his career with a national title in 2004.

            One of the most noticeable similarities is the crab ride.           

            Jesse used that riding style — where the man on top uses one arm wrapped around the waist and the other in a half-nelson position around his opponent’s neck — to defeat Oklahoma State’s Zach Esposito in the 149-pound final in Kansas City in completing a 131-13 career mark wearing the Crimson singlet.

            Corey, currently a 141-pound sophomore for Harvard, used the ride to win all five of his matches, Dec. 5-6, in the Las Vegas Convention Center, where he defeated defending national champion J Jaggers of Ohio State, 4-3, in the quarterfinals and eventually Pitt’s Tyler Nauman, 10-5, in the title bout.

            The younger Jantzen, who like his brother hails from Shoreham, N.Y., said Jesse is still the master of the crab ride.

            “He helps me every day,” said Corey, whose father, Donald, also wrestled. “I’m trying to improve my style.”

            Harvard coach Jay Weiss, who has headed the Cambridge, Mass., program the past 15 years, said there is a better comparison than style when talking about the Jantzen brothers.

            Weiss saw it near the end of the Las Vegas championship match, when Corey was forced to literally fight off his back to beat Nauman, who used a cement-mixer to take Jantzen to his back in the final 30 seconds of the bout after Jantzen led 7-0.

            But just when it looked like the Corey was pinned, the Crimson used a strong bridge to reverse Nauman to his back and preserve the victory for Harvard.

            “The biggest thing in both of them is their heart,” said Weiss, who has produced nine different All-Americans during his tenure, including three-timer Jesse. “That’s what I saw in four years from Jesse and right there from Corey.  He was put on his back and a millimeter away from getting pinned. He bridged off and put the other guy on his back.”

            “I stopped wrestling for three seconds and almost paid the price,” grinned Corey. “I knew I was winning the match and said to myself, the only way he could beat me was if he pinned me. I decided that I’m going to bridge as hard as I can and try to get off my back. I knew that if I got off my back, the match would be mine.

             “I just went out and had fun. All summer I’ve been working out and training as hard as I can; more importantly working on the mental game. I’m starting to believe in myself.”

            Self-esteem was a problem for Corey last year. Despite the fact that Corey won two New York state championships for Wading River High School and was invited to compete at the Midlands as a high school senior, the younger Jantzen suffered several injuries last year: a high ankle sprain at the Las Vegas tournament and a torn ACL at the Midlands in late December.

            That meant he sat out seven weeks, but came back to qualify for the NCAA tournament, where he lost both of his matches at 141 pounds in St. Louis.

            Jantzen, who said he is 85 percent healthy, made Las Vegas his season-opening experience; quite a task considering the level of competition at his weight that included four wrestlers ranked in the top ten before the tournament, including Arizona State’s Chris Drouin, who Jantzen pinned in 2:02 of their semifinal bout.

            “I have full confidence putting him in this tournament,” said Weiss. “He came here to win it, not just get him some matches. Corey has high goals.”

            Weiss said he’s definitely seen an improved wrestler, who moved to No. 1 in WIN’s Dec. 8 national rankings after the Vegas triumph.

            “Corey’s tough on  his feet,” Weiss said. “His top wrestling is one of the best in the country and he’s getting off the bottom now a lot better than he has in the past. All facets of his game are getting better.”

            So too are the comparisons with the Jantzen name.