MINNEAPOLIS – The Maryland wrestling team is primed for its fifth-ever Big Ten Championships appearance this weekend, traveling to the University of Minnesota for the two-day tournament that will begin on Saturday morning.
Wrestling will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Mar. 9, and conclude with the final session at 3 p.m. on Mar. 10. The first three sessions will be available on BTN+($), with Sunday's championship session airing live on the Big Ten Network.
Live stats will be available throughout the tournament via trackwrestling.com. Fans can also follow @TerpsWrestling on Twitter for updates on the ten Terrapins competing in the event.
MARYLAND LINEUP
| Weight |
Wrestler |
| 125 |
Brandon Cray (RSo. - Hamilton, N.J.) |
| 133 |
Orion Anderson (Fr. - Schuylerville, N.Y.) |
| 141 |
Danny Bertoni (So. - Jefferson, Md.) |
| 149 |
Alfred Bannister (RSr. - La Plata, Md.) |
| 157 |
Adam Whitesell (RSr. - Silver Spring, Md.) |
| 165 |
Philip Spadafora (RFr. - Dix Hills, N.Y.) |
| 174 |
Josh Ugalde (RJr. - Bound Brook, N.J.) |
| 184 |
Kyle Jasenski (RFr. - Schenectady, N.Y.) |
| 197 |
Niko Cappello (RSo. - Cranford, N.J.) |
| 285 |
Youssif Hemida (Sr. - Mamaroneck, N.Y.) |
SEEDING
Ahead of the 2019 B1G Championships, the Big Ten Conference released its pre-seeds for the event. The number of seeded wrestlers in each weight class depends on how many NCAA Championships qualifier allocations were in the class.
Brandon Cray and
Philip Spadafora lead the way for Maryland, as each are seeded 11
th in the 125 and 165-pound weight classes, respectively.
Alfred Bannister and
Youssif Hemida, who have placed in each of the last two conference tournaments, enter unseeded in the 149 and 285-pound brackets.
B1G HISTORY
Seven Maryland wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Championships through the conference tournament since Maryland joined the Big Ten.
Four wrestlers have accomplished the feat twice: Geoffrey Alexander,
Alfred Bannister,
Ryan Diehl and
Youssif Hemida.
In Maryland inaugural season in the B1G, Alexander, Lou Mascola and Spencer Meyers all qualified. Alexander was able to earn a spot in the championships the following year as well.
In 2017, four Maryland grapplers qualified for the NCAA Championships. Bannister, Diehl, Hemida and Billy Rappo represented Maryland and gave the Terps a top-35 finish in the national tournament.
Maryland's trio of Bannister, Diehl and Hemida led the charge again for Maryland in the 2018 event, as all three found their way to the podium en route to their second-consecutive NCAA qualification.
Maryland has finished 11
th in the conference tournament in back-to-back seasons.
B1G DEBUTS
Five of Maryland's 10 wrestlers will be making their conference tournament debuts when they take the mat at the 2019 Big Ten Championships this weekend.
Orion Anderson (133),
Danny Bertoni (141),
Adam Whitesell (157),
Philip Spadafora (165) and
Kyle Jasenski (184) will appear in the conference tournament for the first time in their collegiate careers.
Whitesell is the lone upperclassman in the group, as Anderson, Bertoni, Spadafora and Jasenski have all completed two or fewer seasons of collegiate wrestling.
B1G EXPERIENCE
Maryland's 2019 Big Ten Championships lineup will also have five experienced wrestlers who have participated in at least one Big Ten Championships.
Brandon Cray (125) and
Niko Cappello (197) made their conference tournament debuts last season.
Josh Ugalde (174) has appeared in two conference tournaments while
Alfred Bannister (149) has made three trips to the event. Senior heavyweight
Youssif Hemida will enter the conference tournament for the fourth time in as many seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
Maryland closed out the regular season with a 22-16 victory over Rider on Feb. 24. The Terps were paced by a pair of pins from sophomore
Danny Bertoni and senior heavyweight
Youssif Hemida.
Bertoni's fall beat the buzzer at the end of the first period, while Hemida worked a cradle to get his pin in the second frame of the 285-pound contest.
The day also saw wins form
Brandon Cray,
Alfred Bannister and
Josh Ugalde. Cray and Bannister were able to capture decision victories while Ugalde posted a major decision win over Rider's Dean Sherry.
Ugalde's win was his fourth dual victory of the year, which is good for the most in his career. Three of those wins came with bonus points, which is also a career high. The redshirt junior closed out the dual season with three wins in his final four appearances.
#MOOSETIME
Senior heavyweight
Youssif Hemida has impressed for the Terps this dual season, winning a team-best seven dual matches including four in conference play.
The returning NCAA All-American has wrestled a tough slate, taking on six ranked opponents over the course of the regular season. His campaign included bouts with top-ranked Gable Steveson (Minnesota) and seventh-ranked Sam Stoll (Iowa).
MOOSE GOES GLOBAL
Senior heavyweight
Youssif Hemida shined in his first international competition this past fall, taking home a silver medal at the U23 World Championships in Bucharest, Romania. Hemida posted a 3-1 record in the event, outscoring opponents 15-3 in his three wins. His lone loss came in the gold medal match where he fell to Said Gamid Gamidov, a 2015 Junior World Champion.
BABY'S BACK
Redshirt senior
Alfred Bannister had a solid final campaign in College Park, picking up 14 wins in 21 matches. The 149-pounder had six dual wins on the season, good for second-most on the Maryland roster.
His redshirt senior season started off with a bang as his took home a title at the Princeton Open in November.
Bannister also eclipsed the 100-win plateau when he topped Cole Reimer (U of Chicago) by decision at the Midlands Championships in December.
FINISHING STRONG
A trio of Terps closed out their regular seasons on a high note, taking home multiple victories in Maryland's final three contests of the dual schedule.
125-pounder
Brandon Cray ended the season on a three-match winning streak, picking up a pair of decisions and a technical fall in Maryland's dual at George Mason.
Sophomore 141-pounder
Danny Bertoni finished the season with two wins in his final three contests, including a first-period fall to close out. The year against Rider.
Redshirt junior
Josh Ugalde also went two-for-three in Maryland's final three duals of the season. The 174-pounder earned a decision win against George Mason and won by major decision against Rider to close out the year.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Maryland relied on a handful of young wrestlers throughout its dual campaign.
Orion Anderson,
Kyle Jasenski and
Philip Spadafora all started in every dual this season, as all three competed in their first seasons in Maryland's dual lineup.
Sophomore
Danny Bertoni stepped in for the Terps at 141 in the second half of the season as well. He had previously competed in just two dual matches during his freshman season.
BATTLE TESTED
Maryland wrestled a challenging schedule this season, including seven matches against ranked foes. The Terps squared off with a trio of top-10 opponents, fac
