No. 23 Maryland wrestling sweeps opening day of Virginia Duals over Oklahoma and Ohio

It was mostly smooth sailing for No. 23 Maryland wrestling on the first day of the Virginia Duals. The Terps went 2-0 on the day, with wins over Oklahoma and Ohio. Ohio was a controlling performance, but Oklahoma was a back-and-forth battle that came down to the final match. 

More important than the final result of these duals, however, is the experience the young Terps received against some of the best Division One wrestlers.

No. 23 Braxton Brown faced No. 11 Joey Prata to kick things off for the Terps against Oklahoma. Brown built an early 4-1 lead thanks to a single-leg takedown and two near fall points, and then proceeded to keep Prata in check the rest of the match for a 4-1 decision win. Against Ohio, Brown looked to give the Terps yet another early lead. Facing Oscar Sanchez, Brown dominated to get a win by fall in the second and put the Terps up 6-0. The two wins on the day brought Brown’s dual match record to 8-0, an incredible mark for the redshirt freshman. 

At 133, sophomore Conner Quinn battled for the Terps. In his first match against No. 30 Wyatt Henson, Quinn didn’t have an answer for Henson’s relentless attack. Henson went up 8-3 after the first period, and eventually went on to win a 22-8 major decision to give Oklahoma a 4-3 lead. Quinn’s second match was against Mason Brugh. Brugh controlled Quinn throughout the match, taking a 5-1 decision win to put Ohio on the board with three points. 

No. 33 Kal Miller represented Maryland at 141, and his first bout against No. 30 Mosha Schwartz was a tightly contested affair. There was no score after one, but in the second, Schwartz got an escape point and takedown for a 3-0 lead. In the third, Miller got a reversal, but it wasn’t enough as Schwartz took the 4-2 decision win to grow Oklahoma’s lead to 7-3. The freshman’s next opponent was Kyran Hagan. Hagan had a 1-0 win after two periods, but Miller tied things up at three in an action packed third. In sudden victory, Miller got a takedown to win it and stretch Maryland’s lead to 9-3 against Ohio.

Wrestling for the Terps at 149 was No. 28 Ethen Miller. Oklahoma sent out No. 13 Mitch Moore, but the redshirt freshman was unfazed. After a scoreless first, Miller accumulated 1:43 of riding time in the second, while Moore got an escape point. In the third, Miller got an escape point and held Moore off on his way to a 2-1 decision lead to bring the Terps within one at 7-6. Miller’s final bout of the day was with Alec Hagan. There were no points scored in the first or second, but Miller accumulated lots of riding time in the second. In the third, Miller got an escape point to bring his lead to the final score of 2-0, putting the Terps up 12-3 over the Bobcats.

No. 33 Michael North competed for Maryland at 157. The redshirt junior’s first opponent, Jacob Butler, hung with him through a 3-3 first period, but North had a dominant second to take a 6-3 lead with an escape and takedown. In the third, North locked things down to take a 9-3 win and put the Terps up 9-7 against the Sooners. North’s second match was against Daniel Segura. North was in complete control throughout, getting takedowns at will in a dominant affair that finished in a 12-0 majority decision win and gave the Terps a large 16-3 lead over the Bobcats.

At 165, John Martin Best went out for the Terps. The redshirt freshman faced No. 19 Gerrit Nijenhuis in the Oklahoma dual. The score was 0-0 after one, but Nijenhuis got an escape and a takedown in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Best got a point in the third, but it wasn’t enough, leading to a 3-1 decision win for Nijenhuis that gave Oklahoma a 10-9 lead. In Best’s next match, he faced Jordan Slivka. Slivka controlled Best through all three rounds, eventually building his lead to the final score of 4-0. This trimmed Ohio’s deficit down to 16-6. 

Sophomore Dominic Solis wrestled for Maryland at 174. The Terps needed a strong performance against No. 24 Darrien Roberts, and he delivered. Roberts took a 2-1 lead after one, but Solis got an escape point to tie things up at two after the second. In the third, Solis had a big takedown but Roberts had two escapes, which sent it to sudden victory tied even at four. There, Solis got a takedown to get a much-needed win that gave the Terps a 12-10 lead. Against Ohio, Solis faced No. 30 Sal Perrine. Perrine took a 3-1 lead into the third with a takedown and escape point, and Solis couldn’t close the gap in the final period. Perrine won with a 5-3 decision, bringing the score to 16-9. 

Chase Mielnik represented the Terps at 184. In his match against Tate Picklo, the sophomore fell behind, trailing 3-2 in the final period. There, he fought for a takedown, but Picklo had enough left in the tank to hang on and win a 3-2 decision. The win put Oklahoma back on top, 13-12. Mielnik’s next bout was with Zayne Lehman. Mielnik couldn’t get any offense going, and Lehman capitalized, taking a dominant 8-0 majority decision to bring the Bobcats within three, 16-13. 

At 197, No. 12 Jaxon Smith continued rolling for Maryland. The redshirt freshman imposed his will against his first opponent, Seth Seago, taking a 9-1 lead after the first period. In the second, Smith ended the match with a fall win, giving the Terps an 18-13 lead heading into the final match of the dual against Oklahoma. Smith didn’t waste any time in his next match, facing Carson Brewer, where he got his second fall win of the day at the 2:29 mark of the first round to give the Terps a 22-13 lead over Ohio.

No. 30 Jaron Smith closed things out in both duals for the Terps at heavyweight. Taking on No. 19 Josh Heindselman in his first match, Smith couldn’t get any offense going. Heindselman controlled the bout to take a 4-1 decision win, but Smith’s defense allowed the Terps to hang on and beat Oklahoma 18-16. In the final match of the day for the Terps, Smith faced Drew Harris. Smith dominated the entire match, leading 10-0 after the first before taking a 16-0 tech fall win in the second to give Maryland a 27-13 win over Ohio.

The Terps will finish the Virginia Duals tomorrow with matches against Campbell and Virginia.