HAMPTON, Va. – The University of Maryland wrestling team got wins from Brandon Cray, King Sandoval, Jahi Jones, Kyle Cochran, and Jaron Smith en route to the team's second win of the season, downing Fresno State 22-18 in the first contest of the Virginia Duals.
Maryland now advances to the semifinal where it will face Rider on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. Rider, the tournament's No. 2 seed, is coming off a dominant 47-3 win over Duke in the quarterfinals.
Now only six duals into the season, Maryland has matched last season's win total.
The Terps got off to a fast start in the dual, winning the first two matches by way of bonus points. 125-pounder Brandon Cray started it off with a 9-0 major decision, his first dual win of the season and also his first major decision of his redshirt junior campaign.
Redshirt freshman King Sandoval followed it up with a bonus-point victory of his own, pinning the Bulldogs' Gary Joint in the first period. Sandoval's pin was the first of his career in dual action. The pin leader from last year's roster hit his signature cement mixer to get Joint on his back before the fall was ultimately called at 2:01.
Fresno State's DJ Lloren earned a 7-1 decision over Hunter Baxter at 141 pounds, cutting the deficit down to seven, and Greg Gaxiola – ranked 32nd in the nation via TrackWrestling – won the second consecutive bout for the Bulldogs via a 6-1 decision over Michael Doetsch, to bring the match within four points at 10-6.
Jahi Jones won his third-consecutive dual meet at 157 pounds, taking down Beau Colombini via a 3-2 decision that came down to a coaches' challenge video review in the final seconds of the third period. Jones – who ranks 24th in the country per FloWrestling – improves to 10-2 on the season and has now won three straight dual matches for the first time in his career.
Kyle Cochran followed Jones up with another victory for the Terps, earning a 9-4 decision over Ricky Padilla at 165 pounds. Cochran improves to 6-3 on the season after winning his third dual victory of his redshirt sophomore campaign.
Philip Spadafora suffered his third straight loss in dual competition, dropping a 7-5 decision to Brandon Martino, who pulled ahead late in the third period with a takedown. Kyle Jasenski dropped his bout at 184 pounds via a 4-1 decision to Hunter Cruz. Jasenski moves to 7-6 on the season.
Jaron Smith clinched the dual victory for the Terps, earning six points for Maryand after Ryan Reyes injury defaulted late in the first period on a Smith takedown attempt. Smith – who ranks 25th in the NCAA per FloWrestling – has won four consecutive dual meets and improves to 7-2 on the season. Smith's four consecutive dual wins is the best streak of his career.
Parker Robinson closed out the dual for Maryland, ultimately suffering a pin to No. 14 Josh Hokit.
Saturday, Maryland will face Rider in the tournament semifinals. Rider improved to 4-2 on the season with Friday's win over Duke. Last season, Maryland defeated Rider 22-16 to close out the regular season. Maryland will also close the 2019-20 regular season with a home dual vs. the Broncs.
-TURTLEPOWER-
Maryland 22, Fresno State 18
125 | Brandon Cray (UMD) major dec. Destin Summers (FSU), 9-0 (4-0)
133 | King Sandoval (UMD) fall over Gary Joint (FSU), 2:01 (10-0)
141 | DJ Lloren (FSU) dec. Hunter Baxter (UMD), 7-1 (10-3)
149 | Greg Gaxiola (FSU) dec. Michael Doetsch (UMD), 6-1 (10-6)
157 | Jahi Jones (UMD) dec. Beau Colombini (FSU), 3-2 (13-6)
165 | Kyle Cochran (UMD) dec. Ricky Padilla (FSU), 9-4 (16-6)
174 | Brandon Martino (FSU) dec. Philip Spadafora (UMD), 7-5 (16-9)
184 | Hunter Cruz (FSU) dec. Kyle Jasenski (UMD), 4-1 (16-12)
197 | Jaron Smith (UMD) injury def. Ryan Reyes (FSU), 5:06 (22-12)
285 | No. 14 Josh Hokit (FSU) fall over Parker Robinson (UMD), 6:26 (22-18)
