Maryland wrestling snaps nine-match losing streak with 20-19 win over Drexel

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Athletics.

Friday night was senior night for Maryland wrestling (5-9, 0-8 in B1G). The Terps closed out the regular season at the Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion at Xfinity Center in their first non conference matchup since December – a bout with the Drexel Dragons(13-5, 5-1 in EIWA).

Maryland was honoring seven seniors, including John Martin Best, Anthony Bradley, Braxton Brown, Luke Jacobs, Ryan Money, Dom Solis and Carter Young. 

Through an injury riddled and adversity filled regular season, Coach Alex Clemsen has been consistent with one thing he wants – effort. 

“It’s a close team, the guys spend a lot of time together,” Clemsen said. “The way the group pulls for each other and fights for each other means a lot as a coach.”

The Terps showed that fight against the Dragons. Maryland clawed its way to a 20-19 victory, winning on criteria and snapping a nine-match losing streak. 

125 pounds was a scrap between sophomore Abram Cline and redshirt senior No. 26 Desmond Pleasant. Pleasant was able to land a takedown within ten seconds of the opening round, and landed another within the final minute of the first period for a 6-1 advantage. 

Drexel’s 125-pounder landed a nasty reversal to start the second, then found a takedown within the final forty seconds, taking an 11-2 lead. The two men traded takedowns in the final period, but Pleasant found a second one late for a major decision victory.

133 pounds was No. 17 Braxton Brown against Kyle Waterman. Brown pushed the pace in the first, landing a takedown near the one-minute mark. He picked up over a minute of riding time, taking a 3-0 lead deep into the second. Waterman found an escape point to get on the board, surviving a challenge from Clemsen, but Brown responded with an escape of his own and hung on for a 5-2 decision. 

Dario Lemus was next for the Terps at 141 pounds, facing Jordan Soriano. Soriano came out sharp, landing a quick takedown, but the Maryland redshirt sophomore dominated the rest of the match. In a match filled with scrambles, Lemus continued to best Soriano, finding multiple takedowns and taking a comfortable 13-6 win.

149 pounds was No. 4 Carter Young against Deion Pleasant. The Terps’ mid-year transfer mauled Pleasant in an uncompetitive match, finishing with a second period tech fall victory. 

Mekhi Neal took on Gavin Carroll at 157 pounds. A violation by Neal gave Carroll a 1-0 lead after a scoreless first, and he added two more takedowns while negating Neal’s offense to take an 8-1 decision victory, bringing the Dragons within four as the match headed to intermission. 

At 165 pounds, AJ Rodriguez took on Cody Walsh. After trading takedowns early, Walsh got two escape points for a 5-3 lead into the second period. There, he landed a takedown late in the for a 9-3 lead. Walsh was able to seal the deal in the third with a takedown, winning 13-4 over Rodriguez and tying the score at 11 .

174 pounds saw freshman Seth Digby against Dom Finadora. Finadora pushed the tempo early, landing two takedowns for a 6-1 lead into the second. He found two more takedowns in the second, extending his lead. Digby showed fight in the third with two late takedowns, but a reversal from Finadora sealed his 17-9 victory and put Drexel up 15-11. 

In a must-win match, Sepanta Ahanj-Elias took the mat against Ethan Wilson at 184 pounds. .  Wilson and Ahanj-Elias traded takedowns in the first, but the Maryland freshman picked up a big takedown in the second for a 9-3 lead. Ahanj-Elias secured the win with a reversal in the third, taking an 11-7 win and cutting the Drexel lead to 15-14 with two matches to play. 

No. 16 Branson John took the mat at 197 pounds against Ibrahim Ameer. The Terps needed John to dominate, and that’s what he did, rendering Ameer helpless in an 18-3 tech fall victory where the sophomore almost never took a backwards step. 

The final matchup of the night was Joey Schneck against No. 24 Nate Schon. Schon had an early takedown, then found another in the second for a 6-2 lead. After an escape from Schneck,  Schon’s lead was 6-3 heading into the third. Schon landed two takedowns in the final period, picking up a major decision victory, but Maryland’s heavyweight was able to do enough to keep the match tied – and the Terps had the criteria advantage. 

Maryland will be back at the Big Ten Championships, which start on March 7.