PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Three Terps earned victories but the Maryland wrestling team lost to Rutgers, 28-11, on Saturday night at the Rutgers Athletics Center.
The match included wins from Jahi Jones, Kyle Cochran, and Jaron Smith. Jones, Cochran, and Smith all recorded their second dual victories of the year, and first of the Big Ten season.
Jaron Smith recorded the only bonus-point victory for the Terps with an emphatic pin of the 14th-ranked Jordan Pagano at 197 pounds. Smith, who won his second consecutive dual bout, caught Pagano in a front headlock and clinched the upset with the first-period pin in just 0:52.
Maryland dropped its opening four bouts as Brandon Cray was pinned by #12 Nicolas Aguilar at 125 pounds, King Sandoval dropped a 9-4 decision to #19 Sammy Alvarez at 133 pounds, Hunter Baxter lost a hard-fought 2-0 decision to JoJo Aragona at 141 pounds, and Michael Doetsch was pinned by Gerard Angelo at 149 pounds.
Jahi Jones flipped things around and brought some energy to the Terps' bench with a 6-2 decision over Michael Van Brill in which Jones scored on two takedowns and two escapes, his final takedown coming at the buzzer at the end of the third period to clinch victory.
Kyle Cochran kept the momentum going with a 4-0 decision over Brett Donner in which Cochran, the New Jersey native, was able to break a long scoreless opening period and ride out the third period to clinch the win.
In the marquee bout of the night, two top-20 ranked 174 pounders in Philip Spadafora (20) and Joseph Grello (18) battled hard in a match that came down to the last seconds, with Grello ultimately earning the 3-2 decision.
Kyle Jasenski dropped a 7-2 decision to Billy Janzer at 184 pounds, but in the next bout Jaron Smith put on a show – but not necessarily for the home crowd – in front of nearly 5,500 fans at the Rutgers Athletics Center. The redshirt junior pulled off the unlikely upset and silenced the usually-hostile Rutgers crowd to put six points on the board for Maryland.
In the final bout, Parker Robinson dropped a 13-4 major decision to often-ranked Christian Colucci.
Maryland (1-3, 0-1 B1G) competes at home up next with a dual meet vs. Pittsburgh on December 20. For full results from Maryland's dual against Rutgers, see below.
Rutgers 28, Maryland 11
125 | No. 12 Nicolas Aguilar (RU) over Brandon Cray (UMD) by fall (4:24); RU leads, 6-0
133 | No. 19 Sammy Alvarez (RU) over King Sandoval (UMD) by decision, 9-4; RU leads, 9-0
141 | JoJo Aragona (RU) over Hunter Baxter (UMD) by decision, 2-0; RU leads, 12-0
149 | Gerard Angelo (RU) over Michael Doetsch (UMD) by fall (4:13); RU leads, 18-0
157 | Jahi Jones (UMD) over Michael Van Brill (RU) by decision, 6-2; RU leads, 18-3
165 | Kyle Cochran (UMD) over Brett Donner (RU) by decision, 4-0; RU leads, 18-6
174 | No. 18 Joseph Grello (RU) over No. 20 Philip Spadafora (UMD) by decision, 3-2; RU leads, 21-6
184 | Billy Janzer (RU) over Kyle Jasenski (UMD) by decision, 7-2; RU leads, 24-6
197 | Jaron Smith (UMD) over No. 14 Jordan Pagano (RU) by fall (0:52); RU leads, 24-11*
HWT | Christian Colucci (RU) over Parker Robinson (UMD) by major decision, 13-4; RU wins, 28-11
*Maryland deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct
-TURTLEPOWER-
