COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Justin Alexander, Josh Snook and Rob Fitzgerald notched four-win showings as the Maryland wrestling team completed a dominant 4-0 day at the annual Terrapin Duals at the XFINITY Center Sunday.

The Terps (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) dropped just five of 40 matches on the day and picked up bonus points in 26 bouts against Johns Hopkins, Kutztown, Davidson and Alderson-Broaddus. Fitzgerald, Alexander, Ryan Kail, Arashdeep Gill, Daniel Sanchez, Jhared Simmons and Sean Twigg all made their dual-match debuts.

“Everybody got a chance to get out there and get some experience, so that was exciting,” head coach Kerry McCoy said. “We put up a lot of bonus points which was good. They really went after it and scored a lot of points. It was good.”

Maryland vs. Johns Hopkins

The Terrapins came out firing all cylinders in their morning match with local foe Johns Hopkins, dispatching the Blue Jays 49-0.

After Hopkins forfeited at 125 pounds, Geoffrey Alexander returned to dual competition with a flourish, pinning Christian Vallis late in the second period after a dominant performance.

The Terps followed that up with a pair of tech falls to extend the lead. Shyheim Brown racked up back points early and often en route to a 16-1 finish over Lucas Escobar at 4:32. Ben Dorsay grabbed a near fall at the end of the second rounds and eventually put away Tom Grifa, 17-1, at 6:07.

At 157 pounds, Justin Alexander made his debut on the XFINITY Center mat with a 9-7 decision over Christian Salera. Tyler Manion followed with a close decision win, defeating Welles Sakmar, 8-7.

In his first dual contest 174 pounds, Snook was just about perfect, rolling through Jared Forman with a pin at 1:04. Gill brought the XFINITY Center crowd to its feet with a takedown inside the last 10 seconds of the match to secure a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Evan Johnson.

Fitzgerald took the Terps over 40 team points, pinning Joey Tilson at 1:22. Local product Sean Twigg sealed the shutout with a fall victory over Ellis Flannery at 1:30.

Maryland 49, Johns Hopkins 0
125: Josh Polacek (MD) wins by forfeit (6-0)
133: Geoffrey Alexander (MD) fall over Christian Vallis, 4:31 (12-0)
141: Shyheim Brown (MD) tech fall over Lucas Escobar, 16-1 4:32 (17-0)
149: Ben Dorsay (MD) tech fall over Tom Grifa (JHU), 17-1 6:07 (22-0)
157: Justin Alexander (MD) dec over Christian Salera (JHU), 9-7 (25-0)
165: Tyler Manion (MD) dec over Welles Sakmar, 8-7 (28-0)
174: Josh Snook (MD) fall over a Jared Forman (JHU), 1:04 (34-0)
184: Arashdeep Gill (MD) dec. over Evan Johnson (JHU), 5-4 (37-0)
197: Rob Fitzgerald (MD) fall over Joey Tilson (JHU), 1:22 (43-0)
285: Sean Twigg (MD) fall over Ellis Flannery (JHU), 1:30 (49-0)

Maryland vs. Kutztown

After a short intermission, the hosts took on Kutztown and rolled to a 35-10 victory.

At 125 pounds, Josh Polacek marked his first match at the weight since his freshman season with a pin of Nick DiMarco at 2:28. Geoffrey Alexander followed that up with a hard fought decision win over Travis Roper.

Brown elevated the team score to 12-0 with a 7-2 victory over Matt Benvenuto. After a Kutztown forfeit at 149 pounds, the younger Alexander was once again on point at 157 pounds, defeating Matt Martoccio, 7-3.

After a Tyler Manion pin at 165, Snook took out Brandan Wolfe by major decision at 174 pounds. Gill was unable to follow up his performance from the opening dual, falling by pin to Andre Petroski.

Fitzgerald finished the Terps' scoring with a major decision win before Ryan Kail dropped his heavyweight affair with reigning Division II National Champion Ziad Haddad.

Jhared Simmons and Shane Arechiga also took the mat against Golden Bear foes, winning exhibition bouts at 125 and 149 pounds, respectively.

Maryland 35, Kutztown 10
125 (Exhibition): Jhared Simmons (MD) tech fall over Andrew Moslowitz (KT), 23-7 146 left
125: Josh Polacek (MD) fall over Nick DiMarco, 2:28 (6-0)
133: Geoffrey Alexander (MD) dec over Travis Roper (KT), 8-2  (9-0)
141: Shyheim Brown (MD) dec over Matt Benvenuto (KT), 7-2 (12-0)
149: Ben Dorsay (MD) wins by forfeit. (18-0)
149: (Exhibition) Shane Arechiga (MD) dec over Stanley Proctor (KT), 12-6
157: Justin Alexander (MD) dec over Matt Martoccio (KT), 7-3 (21-0)
165: Tyler Manion (MD) fall over Bo Candeleria (KT), 1:06 (27-0)
174: Josh Snook (MD) major dec over Brandan Wolfe (KT), 11-1 (31-0)
184: Andre Petroski (KT) fall over Arashdeep Gill (MD), 1:19 (31-6)
197: Rob Fitzgerald (MD) maj dec over  Brandan Clark (KT), 10-2 (35-6)
285: Ziad Haddad (KT) maj dec over Ryan Kail (MD), 15-2 (35-10)

Maryland vs. Davidson

The Terps defeated their only Division I foe of the day, Davidson, 36-6. Maryland grapplers picked up bonus points in 6-of-8 victories.

Polacek gave the Terps an early lead with a 4-2 decision win over Phillip Elias. At 133 pounds, Billy Rappo started his day with a pin of Dustin Runzo at 2:39.

Sanchez made his dual-match debut at 141 pounds, using an early takedown to eventually dispatch James McCord, 4-1. Ben Dorsay looked on his way to a victory at 149 pounds, but was pinned at 6:48 by Kevin Birmingham.

Alexander righted the Terps' ship at 157 pounds with a pin of Alex Palinski at 4:14. Manion and Snook followed that up with dominant major decisions to make the team score 26-6.

After Gill dropped his match at 184, Fitzgerald won by major decision over Ian Solcz. Twigg continued his early season pin streak, this time on Eddie Isola at 2:56.

Maryland 36, Davidson 9
125: Josh Polacek (MD) dec Philip Elias (DU), 4-2 (3-0)
133: Billy Rappo (MD) fall over Dustin Runzo (DU), 2:39 (9-0)
141: Daniel Sanchez (MD) dec over James McCord (DU), 4-1 (12-0)
149: Kevin Birmingham (DU) fall over Ben Dorsay (MD), 6:48 (12-6)
157: Justin Alexander (MD) fall over Alex Palinski (DU), 4:14 (18-6)
165: Tyler Manion (MD) maj dec Patrick Devlin (DU), 12-2 (22-6)
174: Josh Snook (MD) maj dec Nathan Powers (DU), 13-1 (26-6)
184: Ryan Devlin (DU) dec over Arashdeep Gill (MD), 10-5 (28-9)
197: Rob Fitzgerald (MD) maj dec Ian Solcz (DU), 11-3 (30-9)
285: Sean Twigg (MD) fall over Eddie Isola (DU) 2:56 (36-9)

Maryland vs. Alderson-Broaddus

Maryland completed the day with a 40-3 win against border opponent Alderson-Broaddus. The Division II program returned to the Terrapin Duals after competing in its first-ever wrestling competition at last season's event.

At 125 pounds, Jhared Simmons picked up his first career dual win, storming past Cody Buchanan, 14-6. Rappo made it two pins in two matches with a fall over Micah Powell at 2:26.

Brown also finished his day strong, pinning Chris Brent a minute into their 141-pound bout. Shane Arechiga continued the Terps' dominance with a 12-7 win over Jason West.

Alexander finished his unbeaten day with a hard fought 3-1 win over Keith Stednitz. TJ Guidice also found a victory, beating Logan Shurina, 10-5.

A Snook decision took the team score to 28-0 before Alderson-Broaddus got on the board through Garret Onderko's 8-2 win over Gill. Fitzgerald got the Terps back on track with a quick pin of Nick Nester.

Kail finished Maryland's day with his first career dual win, pinning Aerison Parrish within a minute in their heavyweight clash.

Maryland 40, Alderson-Broaddus 3
125: Jhared Simmons (MD) maj dec Cody Buchanan (AB), 14-6 (4-0)
133: Billy Rappo (MD) fall over Micah Powell (AB), 2:26 (10-0)
141: Shyheim Brown (MD) fall over Chris Brent (AB), 1:00 (16-0)
149: Shane Arechiga (MD) dec over Jason West (AB), 12-7 (19-0)
157: Justin Alexander (MD) dec over Keith Stednitz (AB), 3-1 (22-0)
165: TJ Guidice (MD) dec. over Logan Shurina (AB), 10-5 (25-0)
174: Josh Snook (MD) dec. over Brian Ohl (AB), 8-1 (28-0)
184: Garret Onderko (AB) dec Arashdeep Gill (MD), 8-2 (28-3)
197: Rob Fitzgerald (MD) fall over Nick Nester (MD), 1:00 (34-3)
285: Ryan Kail (MD) fall over Aerison Parrish (AB), 0:37 (40-3)

The Terps are back in action next Sunday when local rival George Mason visits the XFINITY Pavilion. Action is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

 

 

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