Maryland wrestling extended its losing streak to four dual meets in its loss to No. 10 Minnesota on the road.
Tommy Capul found himself on the wrong side of a shutout against No. 14 125-pounder Patrick McKee, who won by 16-0 technical fall. Only three of those points came from takedowns, as McKee spent the entire first round securing back points and Capul never escaped from down position in the second round. It was Capul’s fourth technical fall loss this season.
No. 21 Braxton Brown pulled off a victory by the thinnest of margins against No. 20 Tyler Wells, winning the 133-pound fight in a 2-1 decision. Neither wrestler could secure a takedown, and Brown secured the victory due to ride time advantage.
The Golden Gophers flipped the result in the 141-pound bout between No. 17 Kal Miller and No. 21 Vance Vombaur. After a scoreless first period, Miller found himself down 2-0 after Vombaur got a point for escaping from down position and then another after officials penalized Miller for dangerous hand usage.
No. 14 Ethen Miller pulled off the third consecutive underdog victory of the night in the 149-pound fight against No. 14 Drew Roberts. Neither wrestler could get anything more than escape points off the other until the third period, in which Miller logged two takedowns to pull away 7-2.
No. 5 Michael Blockhus was only able to get one takedown against No. 33 Michael North, but it was all he needed to extend Minnesota’s victory with a 5-1 decision. The takedown came in the second period, with an attack against North’s leg that forced North to flip over onto his stomach.
Gaven Bell trailed against Minnesota’s Blaine Brenner the entire bout, but stayed persistent until the end of the third. Bell secured three reversals against Brenner, but he was unable to land any attacks from neutral position and gave up the 6-9 decision.
Kevin Makosey wrestled in place of No. 5 Jaxon Smith against No. 21 Garrett Joles in the 197-pound bout. It is his third weight class of the year, and it ended in a 20-4 technical fall for Joles. Makosey was unable to go on the offensive even from neutral positioning, and Joles opted for a catch-and-release strategy to earn the technical fall.
Jordan Gabriel held his own against No. 29 Bennett Tabor in the heavyweight bout, but he too was unable to secure a second half Terps victory and gave up a 12-4 major decision. Though there were moments where Gabriel seemed to be imposing his will, such as an early second period throwdown with Tabor in down position, he seemed to be wrestling uphill for much of the bout.
The Terps will face Michigan State on Feb. 11, their first unranked opponent since their meet against Indiana. It is their second to last chance to get into the win column in the Big Ten conference this season.
