Maryland wrestling falls to Northwestern in Big Ten opener, 27-12

Photo courtesy of Grayson Belanger/Maryland Athletics.

Maryland wrestling headed to Illinois to take on Northwestern on Friday night. The Terps were coming off a decently successful Southern Scuffle, with a finalist at 133 pounds and a semifinalist at 197 pounds at the event. Northwestern placed seventh out of thirty in its most recent action at the Midlands Championships.  

The Wildcats (3-1, 1-0 B1G) would come out on fire at the Ken Kraft Wrestling Room, jumping on Maryland (4-2, 0-1 B1G)  from the early weights. The Terps would never recover, falling 27-12 in their conference opener. 

 Starting off at 125 pounds , Presden Sanchez took on Northwestern’s Dedrick Navarro. After falling behind in the first period, Sanchez clawed back in the second, bringing his deficit to a single point heading into the final period. However, his comeback effort fell short – Navarro took a 4-2 decision victory and gave the Wildcats an early 3-0 lead.

No. 12 Braxton Brown took to the mat next at 133 pounds, facing off against No. 23 Sean Spidle. The two were tied through the opening two periods, but a late takedown saw Spidle snatch victory away from Brown in the dying seconds of the match, giving Northwestern a 6-0 lead.

Trying to get Maryland on the board , Ryan Kennedy stepped up at 141 lbs to take on No. 31 Billy Dekraker. The Northwestern freshman came out hot, leading 6-2 after the first period. Kennedy kept him at bay for the rest of the match, but eventually fell in a 7-3 decision.

At 149 pounds, Carter Young looked to stop the bleeding against Northwestern’s Sam Cartella. Young was the first Terp on the night to find his offense early, taking a dominant 5-0 lead over Cartella. He used that strong opening round to coast to a decisive 5-1 victory, getting Maryland its first points of the conference dual season. 

Mekhi Neal looked to continue shortening the Terps’ deficit, taking on Gunner Myers at 157 pounds. He had no answers for Myers’s offense, losing by technical fall 15-0 and consequently putting the Wildcats up 14-3. 

Following intermission, at 165 pounds AJ Rodriguez went up against Jacob Bostelman. Despite two scoreless periods to start, this match remained intense throughout. Rodruguez was able to secure a takedown in crunch time, sealing the victory 5-0 and keeping Maryland in the match. 

With momentum starting to swing the Terps’ way, Alex Uryniak faced Northwestern’s No. 31 Eddie Enright at 174 pounds. Enright came out blazing with a 6-1 opening period and kept that pressure, eventually winning by technical fall to put the Wildcats up 19-6. With the meet starting to wind down, at 184 pounds Seth Digby took on JD Perez.  Digby dropped an 8-0 major decision, further extending Northwestern’s lead going into the final two matches.

 At 197 pounds, No 15 Branson John went up against Alex Smith. John came out strong, with a 5-2 lead after one, and continued to dominate until the third period, where he ended it with a fall victory to make the score 23-12. 

In the dual’s final match, Oscar Williams wrestled against Gabe Christensen at heavyweight.  Christensen beat out Williams in a 9-1 major decision – like many of Maryland’s wrestlers against the Wildcats, Williams struggled to generate offense. 

The Terps next take on Wisconsin in a quick turnaround on Jan. 11.