Maryland wrestling falls to Columbia in regular season finale, 18-16

When a team has wrestlers like Jaxon Smith and Jaron Smith at 197 and 285, comebacks are almost always a possibility. Down by nine points heading into the final two matches of the dual, Maryland needed big bonus point performances from both Smith’s to squeak out a victory against Columbia. 

Jaxon got a majority decision to keep the Terps in it, but Jaron couldn’t find the pin that Maryland needed in the final dual match of his collegiate career. 

Maryland wrestling’s comeback effort came up just short, with the Terps falling to Columbia, 18-16. Maryland got wins from four wrestlers but fell in too deep of a hole after four-straight losses at 157, 165, 174, and 184.

No. 15 Braxton Brown opened things up for the Terps, competing against No. 31 Nick Babin at 125. The redshirt freshman scored first, stuffing an early Babin shot and getting his own takedown to take a 2-0 lead. Now tied at two in the second, Brown regained the lead with a single leg takedown, but Babin escaped and found a takedown of his own to go up 5-4. Down 7-5, Brown fought for a reversal to tie things up in the closing seconds of the fourth, but the junior held him down to take an 8-5 decision win and give the Lions a 3-0 lead. 

At 133, Redshirt senior King Sandoval represented Maryland in a matchup with sophomore Boris Witmer. Sandoval fell behind 4-1 in the first, but fought back and found a takedown of his own. From there, he transitioned from back control to a headlock, forcing Witmer to his back to get the pin victory. Sandoval’s first win of the year gave the Terps a 6-3 lead. 

Freshman Kal Miller wrestled for Maryland at 141, going up against No. 22 Matt Kazimir. The senior was all over Miller, taking a 2-0 lead in the first and threatening near fall points multiple times. Miller tried to put points on the board, but Kazimir kept him in check with another takedown and more ride time. Kazimir eventually came away with a 6-0 decision, tying the match at six. 

No. 18 Ethen Miller took on senior Danny Fongaro at 149. After a scoreless first, Fongaro got an escape point for a 1-0 lead in the second. Fongaro controlled the redshirt freshman for most of the third after starting on top, but Miller got a reversal in the final seconds of the match to send it to sudden victory. There, Miller secured a takedown to take the 4-2 decision win, putting the Terps up 9-6. 

At 157, redshirt junior Michael North competed for Maryland. Facing No. 22 Cesar Alvan, North went ahead early with a quick takedown. The sophomore escaped, then got hold of North and slammed him on his back in an explosive takedown. Alvan almost got the pin, with the ref counting out four near fall points to give him a 7-3 lead, but time expired in the first before he could finish it off. In the next two periods, North attempted to mount a comeback, but Alvan held him off to take an 8-5 decision win that evened things at nine. 

Redshirt freshman John Martin Best battled for the Terps against No. 15 Joshua Ogunsanya at 165. This match was tightly contested through the first two periods, with Ogunsanya initiating most of the offense to take a 6-4 lead through multiple takedowns. The junior pulled away in the third, with two more takedowns and riding time to add to his totals for a 11-4 decision win that gave Columbia a 12-9 lead. 

Sophomore Dominic Solis went up against No. 30 Lennox Wolak at 174. The bout was scoreless in the first, but Solis got an escape in the second to take a 1-0 lead. The junior came back with a late takedown in the second, and an escape to start the third put him up 3-1. Down by one, Solis couldn’t find a takedown in the final seconds of the match, giving Wolak a 4-3 decision win that extended Columbia’s lead to 15-9. 

Redshirt junior Kevin Makosy represented Maryland at 184. Against sophomore Aaron Ayzerov, Makosy was overpowered. Ayzerov took Makosy down early in the first, rode out the rest of the period, and then did the same thing in the second. Makosy was docked for stalling on multiple instances, making the deficit even further. Ayzerov’s 7-0 decision put Columbia up 18-9. 

At 197, the Terps needed a big performance from No. 13 Jaxon Smith to stay alive in the dual, and he delivered. Matching up with freshman Jack Wehmeyer, Smith was on the offensive the entire match, getting takedowns in the first and second while searching for pins. In the third, Smith abandoned that strategy, taking Wehmeyer down three times to get a majority decision win that brought the score to 18-13, Lions. 

No. 24 Jaron Smith closed things out for Maryland at heavyweight, needing a pin for a Terps victory. Against freshman Billy McChesney, the graduate student found a quick takedown for a 2-0 lead. After Smith picked up some riding time, McChesney escaped and got a takedown of his own. Tied at three in the third, Smith got a takedown and searched for the pin, but McChesney held him off. Smith won 7-3 but it wasn’t enough, as Columbia took the dual, 18-16.

The Terps will return to the mat for the Big Ten Championships March 4th.