No. 23 Maryland wrestling remains undefeated with 18-15 win over Navy

Against talented wrestling programs like Navy, wins will never come easy. Last year, Maryland won a tightly contested 18-16 battle, and the Terps came into this match expecting more of the same. 

Navy didn’t disappoint, hanging around in the match until the final buzzer, but the Terps were too much for the Midshipmen, coming away with the 18-15 victory. No. 23 Maryland wrestling improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2011-12, keeping its undefeated start to the season rolling.

“It says we got a lot of good people,” coach Alex Clemsen said. “I got a great staff, I’m really lucky. Our guys work really hard, they work really smart, we’re on the same page, and we’ve got an awesome support staff.”

Action started for the Terps at 174, where sophomores Dominic Solis and Sammy Starr battled against each other. After a scoreless first period, Solis got the escape point in the second to go up 1-0. Solis wouldn’t relinquish this lead, hanging on in the third period to take a 2-1 decision and give the Terps a 3-0 lead. 

Next up for Maryland was sophomore Chase Mielnik, who competed against junior David Key at 184. Mielnik struggled to generate offense throughout the match, leading to a 4-0 decision win for Key that tied the score at three.

No. 12 Jaxon Smith competed for the Terps at 197 in a ranked matchup against No. 26 Jacob Koser. The redshirt freshman had a dominant first period, getting a late takedown to go up 6-1 after one. Smith continued to build his lead throughout the rest of the match, going up 9-1 after two and finishing with a major decision win to give the Terps a 7-3 lead. 

No. 20 Jaron Smith faced No. 18 Grady Griess in one of his biggest tests at heavyweight this season. The graduate student took a 2-1 lead after the first period, but Griess evened things up in the second. Griess used this momentum to win the third and get the 6-5 decision. 

At 125, No. 23 Braxton Brown went up against junior Grant Treaster. Brown got a slick takedown in the first for a 2-0 lead, and the rest of the match was more of the same. The redshirt freshman got a near fall near the end of the second to go up 6-1, and his lead grew in the final period, taking a 13-1 major decision to put the Terps up 11-6. 

Redshirt freshman Jackson Cockrell matched up against Tyler Hunt at 133. Cockrell trailed the junior after the first period, 2-0, and Hunt grew his lead throughout the match with takedowns. Cockrell fell in a 7-3 decision that tightened the score to 11-9 in favor of the Terps. 

No. 29 Kal Miller took on sophomore Josh Koderhandt at 141. The true freshman fell behind 4-1 after two periods following a takedown from Koderhandt. In the third, Koderhandt used riding time to finish with a 5-1 decision win, giving Navy its first lead of the day. 

Redshirt freshman Ethen Miller faced James Latona at 149 in a big matchup for the Terps. Maryland needed a dominant performance from Miller, and he delivered, going up 4-0 after the first and never looking back. Miller went on to win a 17-4 major decision against the freshman, recapturing the lead for Maryland at 15-12. 

No. 20 Michael North competed against No. 22 Andrew Cerniglia at 157. The redshirt junior got an escape point in the second period to take a 1-0 lead, sending him to another deciding final period. North hung on for a 2-0 decision win, pushing Maryland’s lead to 18-12 as they headed into the final bout. 

In the final match of the day, redshirt junior Lucas Cordio faced Val Park. The senior took a 2-0 lead over Cordio, and held on to finish with the decision win. However, Park needed a fall to tie up the match, and so Cordio clinched the Mayland victory with a 18-15 decision win. 

Maryland will return to the mat Jan. 1 in the Southern Scuffle.