Maryland wrestling handles American, 27-9, stays undefeated

Photo courtesy of Grayson Belanger/Maryland Athletics.

On Friday night, Maryland wrestling went down to Bender Arena to take on American University. The Terps were able to come out of the nation’s capital with a 27-9 victory, bringing their record to 4-0.

The Terps dominated the Eagles last season, winning 38 to -1 – however, it was American who jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. The Bender Arena came alive after wins from Eagles heavyweight Emmanuel Ulrich over Oscar Williams and 125-pounder JJ Peace over Abram Cline, putting the Eagles in a position early to pull off the upset. 

Maryland seized control at the middle weights. After a slow round one, No.10 Braxton Brown got the pin over Maximillian Leete at 133 pounds in a huge six point swing for the Terps. With the team score tied at six, the Terps made a run. At 141 lbs, Darius Lemus gutted out a huge 8-4 decision over Colin Martin behind a huge takedown in the final round.

The energy at Bender Arena had clearly shifted, with Jackson Young next up for Maryland at 149 pounds. Young, coming off a loss in his last match, set the tone early as soon as the whistle blew. He had a dominant round one, then proceeded to ride that first round to a convincing 9-5 majority decision over Leo Maestas.

However, the moment was quickly stalled at 157 lbs, where Mekhi Neil fell to Cameron Milheim. Milheim had a strong first round and hung on to take a 7-3 decision for the Eagles.

There was a minor scare at 165 pounds for the Terps – AJ Rodrigruez had to enter concussion protocol up 4-2 late in the third round. However, he was able to return and take the 4-2 decision win. With potentially the meet in the balance, Maryland turned to Dom Solis at 174 pounds and he answered the call with an impressive 14-4 decision over Hunter Hohman.

The Terps were able to slam the door shut with Seth Digby, who won a 4-1 majority decision at 184 pounds. No. 16 Branson John ended the match with a 21-6 tech fall win over Teage Calvin at 197 pounds. 

Next up for the Terps is a meet at the George Mason Open on Dec. 7 starting at 10 a.m. They begin Big Ten play on Dec. 13 at home in the Xfinity Pavilion.