No. 22 Maryland wrestling (2-1) debuted two freshmen in its 35-6 victory over Morgan State Sunday.
True freshman Dario Lemus made an unexpected debut after replacing Kal Miller, and he turned in a strong technical fall victory over 141-pound senior Khalid Brinkley. Lemus scored back points on near falls, but could not keep Brinkley flipped over before the score ended the fight. It was Lemus’ first dual meet bout as a Terp, and he remains the only freshman to appear in a dual meet bout this season.
This is the second consecutive event Kal Miller has missed due to medical reasons. Head coach Alex Clemsen said Miller missed the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational “due to health” as opposed to injury and that he was “now healthy.” It is unclear when Miller will return to the mat in competition.
Miller’s absence was apparent on the Terps bench, as he is known for being one of the most animated wrestlers on the sideline during others’ bouts.
“I just really get into it,” Miller said after making his opinions known on some calls during bouts. “You can’t lose your mind if you’re the wrestler, you just got to get back on the line and go again. Of course I’m gonna say something though.”
Redshirt sophomore Tommy Capul turned in his best performance of the season against junior Kevin Lopez, securing an 11-10 decision against Morgan State junior Kevin Lopez. With Braxton Brown being elevated to 133 pounds, Capul will likely remain the starter at 125 pounds for the Terps. Capul is 1-1 this season as the 125 pound starter.
Braxton Brown’s fight with Shawn Ryncarz did not even last a round. The 133 pound redshirt sophomore flipped Ryncarz onto his back about a minute into the first period, and Ryncarz was never able to reverse that position. Brown is coming off a first place victory at the George Mason invitational tournament that kept him out of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational tournament. It is his second dual meet bout at 133 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Mason Stein also made his Terps debut against Morgan State, although he ended up on the losing end of a 4-3 decision against freshman Cortilius Vann. Both wrestlers exchanged takedowns, with Vann earning an escape over Stein. It was the second of two Morgan State victories, the first one coming against Gaven Bell at 165 pounds.
Chase Mielnik won his first dual meet bout of the 2023-2024 season, earning a 4-1 decision against freshman Kingsley Menifree. The 184 pound redshirt junior staved off Menifree’s attempts to gain leverage over him, canceling out any takedowns by lifting Menifree over his head and getting the stalemate. Mielnik gave up one escape in the second period after Menifree chose the down position, but Mielnik would not allow any offense.
Seth Nevills got back into the dual meet win column with a technical fall victory over Morgan State’s Sam Alsheimer. In his last dual meet appearance, Nevills was unable to complete the Terps comeback and fell 4-3. Against Alsheimer, he did not struggle to score back points and ended the fight early.
Morgan State had trouble with limiting back points for Terps wrestlers. Seth Nevills, Jaxon Smith, Ethen Miller and Dario Lemus all won their matches on technical falls. Redshirt senior Michael North did not win by technical fall, but he scored 12 unanswered back points against freshman Eric Tecson for a major decision.
The Terps will next send their wrestlers to the Franklin and Marshall Lehman Open tournament on Jan. 5.
