In one stroke of bad luck, Alan Meltzer’s philanthropy toward his alma mater nearly cost his son a spot in the NCAA championships.
A former scholarship wrestler at American, Meltzer has been one of the university’s strongest supporters and a generous contributor, in particular to the Eagles athletic department, since graduating in 1973.
Six years ago he spearheaded an effort to save American’s wrestling program from extinction, and he was instrumental in the hiring of head coach Mark Cody and recruiting of some of the Eagles’ current wrestlers. Meltzer’s effort has paid immediate dividends: American has a school-record four competitors in this weekend’s NCAA championships in Auburn Hills, Mich.
“Without Alan Meltzer, there would not be a program at American University,” said Bob Karch, Meltzer’s former wrestling coach at American and a current member of the university faculty.
Meltzer’s support usually doesn’t compete with that of his son, Max, a Bullis Prep graduate and senior 141-pound wrestler at Harvard. That changed two weeks ago at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships when Max drew American freshman Kyle Borshoff in the preliminaries.
“In the last three years, we haven’t had anybody at that weight who could compete with [Max Meltzer]. He beat up on everybody we had,” said Cody. “[But] Kyle is potentially one of the best freshmen we’ve brought in the last four years.”
And in a stunning upset, Borshoff pinned Max.
“It elated everybody pulling for American. On the other side of the coin it devastated my son, devastated our family,” said Alan Meltzer, who’s always been known for his animated support. “Potentially that loss could’ve cost my son going to the NCAAs.”
And it wasn’t over. Borshoff also fell out of the winners’ bracket, ultimately leading to an historic rematch with Max for third place that went to four overtimes before Max prevailed. Alan Meltzer said he’s never cheered so hard in his life.
“There was no ambiguity on my feelings. It was a hundred — not a hundred, two hundred percent — wanting my son to beat anybody he wrestles,” he said. “When Kyle wrestles anybody else, I want Kyle.”
Karch was on hand for the epic clash.
“That match between the two of them for third place at 141 pounds was maybe one of the best matches I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Both of them came to wrestle, two different styles, but they both showed tremendous respect for each other and a lot of execution.”
The story has a happy ending, at least for now. Both Borshoff and Meltzer earned NCAA berths and the earliest they could meet would be the championship semifinals. It makes things much easier for Alan Meltzer, whose priorities are clear despite his support for both American and Harvard.
“I plan to spend all my time about my son,” he said. “This is his senior year, and he’s a winner no matter what happens.”
