Maryland wrestling suffers brutal loss to No. 3 Michigan, 44-5

Despite multiple one-sided losses for Maryland in its most recent duals, the Terps have had plenty of positives in their last four bouts. The main one has been the development of Maryland’s young wrestlers, where redshirt freshmen Braxton Brown, Ethen Miller, and now John Martin Best have all come away with big wins for the Terps in the last week of action. 

Maryland wrestling fell to No. 3 Michigan in a contest that never felt close, 44-5. The Terps missed four ranked wrestlers, as Brown, Miller, redshirt junior Michael North and redshirt freshman Jaxon Smith were all unable to compete. Missing four highest ranked wrestlers against Michigan created troubles, as the Wolverines easily dispatched of the shorthanded Terps. 

“I think as a program we’re always focused on March,” coach Alex Clemson said on the latest Left Bench: In Focus show. “We’re really graded on the two weekends at the end of the year with Big Tens and NCAAs, and so that’s really the focus, and we’ve kinda been a little conservative with a couple of the injuries knowing that.”

Maryland’s lone points came on an impressive performance from Best, who picked up his first pin of the season. 

No. 33 Kal Miller got things underway for the Terps, taking on redshirt junior Pat Nolan. After a scoreless first period, Miller started the second on top. Nolan got an escape point against the freshman after 56 seconds, giving him a 1-0 lead as the match entered the third. There, Miller got an escape point of his own, but Nolan secured a takedown that held up after a review to take the 3-1 decision win and give the Wolverines an early 3-0 lead. 

At 149, freshman Joe Fisk filled in for No. 20 Miller for the second straight match. Facing redshirt sophomore Fidel Mayora, Fisk fell behind early, with Mayora getting a single leg and a four-point tilt to take a 6-0 lead in the first. Mayora continued to add to his totals in the next two rounds, getting another two takedowns along with the riding points for a 12-0 major decision. The win brought the Wolverines’ lead up to 7-0.  

Redshirt freshman Kevin Schork continued to represent the Terps in place of No. 24 North at 157. Schork was overwhelmed by No. 10 Will Lewan, who immediately got a takedown and started working. The redshirt senior transitioned through Schork on the ground to get his first pin of the season at the 1:47 mark that put Michigan up 13-0. 

Best looked to give Maryland some momentum at 165 in a matchup between two redshirt freshmen. Best has been wrestling well recently, with competitive matches against top 25 opponents. Against Alex Wesselman, Best dominated from the start. Best got a quick takedown and four near-fall points in the first, and then got a second takedown to take an 8-0 lead after two periods. In the third, Best finished the job with his first pin of the season to get the victory and put the Terps on the board, bringing the score to 13-6. 

No. 33 Dominic Solis battled for the Terps against redshirt senior Max Maylor at 174. Maylor took an early 5-4 lead over the sophomore after an action-packed first. In the second, Maylor got a takedown, but Solis quickly recovered to escape, bringing him back within two at 7-5 as action entered the third. There, Maylor held Solis off to come away with the 10-7 decision victory to give the Wolverines a 10-point advantage at 16-6 as the match headed to intermission. 

At 184, sophomore Chase Mielnik competed for the Terps in a matchup against No. 7 Matt Finesilver. Mielnik was powerless against the graduate student, who pounced on Mielnik with a quick single leg and multiple near-falls while on the ground on his way to a 18-0 tech fall win after just a single period. The victory expanded Michigan’s lead to 15. 

Smith continued to sit out for Maryland at 197. Lingering injuries have now kept him out of his last four matches, and resulted in four straight forfeits for the Terps at his weight class. Redshirt sophomore Brendin Yatooma was the benefactor of Smith’s forfeit, putting the Wolverines up 27-6. 

At heavyweight, No. 25 Jaron Smith faced the nation’s top ranked heavyweight in No. 1 Mason Parris in a matchup of graduate student’s. Parris jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first with a takedown and four near-fall points. In the second, Smith started on top, but Parris got a reversal to extend his lead to 8-0. He continued to dominate the graduate student in the third, getting a takedown and four more near-fall points for the 16-0 technical fall win. The Terps also lost a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct, which brought the score to 32-5. 

At 125, The Terps gave No. 12 Brown a rest for the first dual match this year. The match ended up going down as Maryland’s second medical forfeit of the night, which gave Michigan a 38-5 lead. 

The final bout of the day was at 133, where sophomore Conner Quinn went up against No. 10 Dylan Ragusin. The redshirt sophomore made quick work of Quinn, pinning him with about a minute left in the first to put a stamp on the Wolverine’s victory, making the final score 44-5. 

The Terps will try to get the Big Ten win that has eluded them since 2016 in their next dual, where they will face No. 23 Rutgers at home Feb. 4.