Maryland wrestling drops third straight conference bout in 28-11 loss to Purdue

Photo courtesy of Rose Fernandes/Maryland Athletics

Maryland wrestling (4-4, 0-3 Big Ten) was back at home for the first time in 2026. Fresh off two losses to start the year, the Terps looked to bounce back against Purdue behind the home crowd at Xfinity Center. 

They failed to do that with a 28-11 loss over the Boilermakers on Friday in College Park.

Setting the tone at 125 lbs, sophomore Presden Sanchez took on Purdue’s Ashton Jackson. Jackson took the lead after a late takedown and never looked back, dominating and taking a 9-0 major decision over Sanchez. 

No. 16 Braxton Brown took the mat for the Terps against Blake Boarman at 133 lbs following Sanchez’s defeat. Brown came out of the gates smoking hot and took a 9-1 lead. The redshirt senior rolled through the rest of the match, winning in dominant fashion via a 19-2 tech fall victory, lighting up the Xfinity Center and giving Maryland a 5-4 lead.

With the crowd at his back, redshirt sophomore Dario Lemus stepped up for the Terps at 141 lbs  against Isiah Schaefer. Schaefer was able to silence the crowd, cruising to a 8-2 decision over Lemus and giving the Boilermakers a 7-5 lead. 

At 149 lbs, No. 7 Carter Young took on No. 21 Gavin Brown in a highly anticipated ranked matchup. Young took an early lead on a takedown in the first, and took a 4-0 lead into the final period. In a competitive third period, Carter Young took  the win 6-3 and give Maryland an 8-7 lead.

Mekhi Neal took on No 22 Stoney Buel at 157 lbs. Buel came in with a point to prove, and proved it early, making quick work of Neal and taking a 15-0 tech fall over Neal to give Purdue the 12-8 lead.

After intermission, 165 lbs saw AJ Rodriguez take on Purdue’s Isaac Rumble. A competitive first period saw a 3-3 draw, and Rodriguez earned a late takedown to tie it 7-7 going into the final period. 

Rodriguez dominated the last round and put an exclamation point on the match with a takedown in the final seconds to get the crowd rocking and secure himself a 15-9 win. Still, the Boilermakers held a 12-11 advantage.

At 174 lbs, Seth Digby took on No. 17 Brody Baumann. Digby fell 22-6 tech fall at the hands of Baumann, and Purdue took a 17-11 lead. 

184 lbs saw Sepanta Ahanj-Elias take on No. 26 James Rowley as Purdue looked to pull away. They did, as Rowley won a 16-7 major decision to take a 21-11 lead into the final two matches.

197 lbs drew a ranked matchup of No. 15 Branson John vs. No. 22 Ben Vanadia. Vanadia came out hot and led John 13-3 after one and finished in front with a 17-5 win to take the overall score to 25-11.

At heavyweight, Joey Schneck wrapped up the night against Hayden Filipovich. At the end of three highly competitive periods, the match wasknotted at 1-1. Heading into sudden victory, Schneck fell 4-1, whichgave Purdue the win.

Maryland takes on Indiana in Bloomingtonon Sunday, seeking its first conference win of the season.