Sports

SWR legend to be elected to wrestling Hall of Fame

COURTESY PHOTO  | Jesse Jantzen was the first-ever four-time state wrestling champion in Suffolk history. He went on to win a national title at Harvard.
COURTESY PHOTO | Jesse Jantzen was the first-ever four-time state wrestling champion in Suffolk history. He went on to win a national title at Harvard.

One of the greatest wrestlers in New York history will now have one more accolade to his illustrious career.

Jesse Jantzen, the famed Shoreham-Wading River wrestler who won four state titles from 1997-2000, will be formally elected into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Hall of Fame March 9, it was announced Monday. Jantzen is one of four wrestlers who will be inducted this year.

At Shoreham, Jantzen became the most accomplished wrestler of his time, never losing a match during his high school career. His last loss came as an eighth grader. He compiled a 221-3 record at Shoreham, finishing third in the state as a seventh and eighth grader before running off four straight undefeated seasons.

Jantzen went on to excel at the collegiate level, winning the 149-pound NCAA title at Harvard University in 2004. He continued to wrestle internationally after college and pursued qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, although his bid came up short.

In Times/Review’s 2011 countdown of the greatest athletes in area history, Jantzen was ranked No. 4.

Joining Jantzen in the 2014 Hall of Fame class are Kyle Dake (Cornell, ’13), David Pottruck (Penn ’70) and Matthew Valenti (Penn ’07). Jantzen will become the third Harvard wrestler to be enshrined in the hall of fame.

Last year, Dake won his fourth national title at Cornell and was the first wrestler to ever win all four at different weight classes. Dake was a two-time state champion at Lansing High School.

The induction ceremony will take place at Penn Palestra. Ticket information is available here.

[email protected]