OMAHA, Neb. – J.P. O’Connor has always looked good in red. He wore the red and white singlet for Oxford on his way to four New York state wrestling titles, and now donning the crimson for Harvard University, he capped a remarkable four-year college career with an NCAA Division One title Saturday night in Omaha, Nebraska.

Already one of the all-time great wrestlers in Chenango County history, O’Connor cemented his position on the national stage as well winning Harvard’s third-ever national title. O’Connor, facing longtime nemesis Chase Pami of Cal Poly, won a 6-4 decision in the 157-pound finals.

O’Connor tied Harvard’s 2004 national champion, Jesse Jantzen for first place on Harvard’s all-time win list with 132, and his unblemished 35-0 season is the first in Harvard wrestling history.

“Going unbeaten is something I am definitely proud of,” O’Connor said on Sunday. “If I had lost a match earlier in the season and won a national title, I’d still be pretty happy. This is just icing on the cake.”

O’Connor was a two-time national all-American after his freshman and sophomore years, and his 37 wins in his inaugural season with the Crimson set a school record. Still, O’Connor was frequently bitten by the injury bug, and never had the perfect union of a healthy mind and body until his senior campaign.

“I know I did everything in my power this year and did everything right,” O’Connor said, who added that it is extremely tough for any division one wrestler to sustain his body through the duration of the season.

As a freshman, O’Connor had the naïveté of a rookie wrestler making his first appearance on the national stage, and was simply pleased to place among the top six. He had notions of winning the title every year thereafter, but ill-timed injuries, illness, and bad fortune conspired against him. “No excuses any of those other years,” O’Connor said. “This year I was fortunate to stay healthy and go into the tournament ready mentally and physically.”

O’Connor’s high school coach at Oxford, Scott Green, was at the national tournament this year as a member of the Binghamton University coaching staff. Green, who is also the founder of the Shamrock Wrestling Club, has seen three of his former pupils – including Kyle Dake of Lansing and Troy Nickerson of Chenango Forks – win NCAA D-One national titles over the past two years