Maryland wrestling is looking to snap a three-meet skid against No. 10 Minnesota in College Park on Friday night.
Maryland has been outscored 25-101 during its losing streak, beginning with a loss to Ohio State at home on Jan. 19. The Golden Gophers recently snapped a two-meet losing streak of their own, defeating No. 13 Rutgers, 20-12. It is the first time since 2021 that the two Big Ten schools have competed with each other in a dual meet.
No. 6 Michael Blockus, weighing in at 157 pounds, has been undefeated in the past three meets despite the Golden Gophers’ two game losing streak, pulling off consecutive upset victories. He is the likely starter against No. 33 Michael North, whose last four opponents have been ranked. Minnesota has two other wrestlers ranked in the top 15 of their weight classes: No. 11 125-pounder Patrick McKee and No. 13 Drew Roberts at 149 pounds. They will face Tommy Capul, looking for his first dual meet win since Dec. 10, and Ethen Miller, who has been consistent through the past few matches.
The Terps have not competed in a dual meet against Minnesota since 2021, but the wrestlers on Maryland’s roster do have experience against the Golden Gophers. Last year, Miller earned a major decision against Minnesota’s Theo Cha in the 2022-23 Southern Scuffle. Kal Miller and Braxton Brown also wrestled against opponents from Minnesota last year, but those wrestlers are no longer on Minnesota’s roster.
Though the Terps struggled in the month of January, Miller and Jaxon Smith have seen overall individual success during the skid. Miller went 3-2 in January and secured one of only two victories for Maryland during the Penn State meet, while Smith went 4-1. His loss to Penn State’s Aaron Brooks was his first dual meet in almost a year to the date.
Maryland has dealt with some insecurity in the heavyweight category during its losing skid. Highly touted Penn State transfer Seth Nevills has struggled, dropping two bouts where winning would mean a meet victory for the Terps. Jordan Gabrielson has taken over starting duty the past two meets, but has seen no more success, most recently losing by fall in just 55 seconds.
The Terps are 1-4 in conference play with three Big Ten matches remaining on their schedule. Two of those opponents, Minnesota and Rutgers, are ranked teams.
