No. 23 Maryland (4-0) vs. Navy (0-0)
December 11, 2022
Wesley A. Brown Field House Annapolis, MD
2:00 pm EST
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - No. 23 Maryland travels to Annapolis, MD for a dual against the Navy Midshipmen on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm. Admission is free. For fans unable to attend, the action can be caught on ESPN+.
The Terrapins are off to a 4-0 start to the season with dominant wins over Bloomsburg, Duke and American at the Maryland Quad Meet on Nov. 5 followed by an 18-16 upset victory over No. 16 Pittsburgh on Nov. 18. The win over the Panthers marked the program's first win over a ranked opponent since 2013.
The Terps have been recognized for their efforts with multiple national rankings. Maryland is currently No. 23 in the NWCA Poll, No. 20 in Intermat's rankings and No. 16 in FloWrestling. The Terps entrance to the NWCA top-25 on Nov. 22 marked its first appearance since February 2013. Additionally, Maryland has seven wrestlers ranked individually by both Intermat and FloWrestling.
Sunday's dual will be the first of the year for Navy. The Midshipmen have started their season with appearances in the Clarion Open, the Bearcat Open, the Navy Classic and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Last season, the Terps and Midshipmen met in College Park on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021 with Maryland coming out on top in a thrilling 18-16 victory. The Terps won the final four bouts to come-from-behind and claim the win, the Terps' first against Navy since January 20, 2012.
NAVY PARKING INFORMATION: Vehicular access to the Naval Academy is limited to those drivers with a Department of Defense identification card. All other visitors may park outside of the Naval Academy grounds and walk through the security gates at Gate 1 or they may take the complimentary shuttles. The shuttles will run from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will pick up spectators at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (550 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, Md., 21401). Enter the blue/west parking lot through gate 5 off of Taylor Avenue. The cost of parking is 10 dollars per vehicle. Visitors 18 years and older must present a government-issued identification card (driver's license/ passport) to gain access to the Academy grounds, while visitors under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Projected Starters
*Intermat Rankings
THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
Successful Start to the season
- The Terps won all three matches in the Nov. 5 home quad meet in dominant fashion, beating Bloomsburg 37-6, Duke 37-0 and American 29-10. In total, Maryland won 27 of 30 bouts. Braxton Brown, Kal Miller, Ethen Miller, Michael North, Dominic Solis, Jaxon Smith and Jaron Smith all went 3-0 in their individual bouts.
- Maryland followed that up with an impressive showing in the Tiger Style Invite. Kal Miller won two bouts to claim the 141-title as a true freshman while Jaxon Smith pinned No. 8 Zac Braunagel in the 197-semifinal bout. He came up just short in the final against No. 5 Bernie Truax.
- Michael North also claimed second place while Ethen Miller brought home third in his hometown.
- Maryland came away with its biggest victory in nearly a decade with an 18-16 win over No. 16 Pittsburgh on the road. Brown, Ethen Miller, North, Solis and Jaron Smith all won their bouts, with Brown winning by fall for a pivotal six-points.
- North and Solis both won in sudden victory, earning massive momentum-swings for the Terps. Maryland was down 15-16 when Smith began his bout and he came away with the 6-1 decision.
Season Outlook
- The Terps won seven duals last season, including victories over local foes Navy and American. It marked the highest total since they won nine in the 2013-14 campaign.
- Head coach Alex Clemsen enters his fourth season at the helm. He led the Maryland to a marked improvement in 2022 with three NCAA qualifiers and a 13th place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Clemsen also brought in the nation's eighth-ranked recruiting class in 2021.
- As always, the Terps will face the best of the best in the Big Ten, the nation's premier wrestling conference. Six of the Terps' eight B1G duals come against teams currently ranked 27th or better.
- Maryland's nonconference schedule is highlighted by their home quad match, Missouri's Tiger Style Invite and duals at No. 18 Pittsburgh and local rival Navy.
Jaxon's sensational Summer
- Redshirt freshman Jaxon Smith represented Team USA all summer with great success.
- Smith claimed US Open and Pan-American titles, outscoring foes 54-2 in five bouts alongside a pin while regularly dispatching opponents in the first period.
- He capped off his summer with a trip to Bulgaria for the 2022 U20 World Championships on Aug. 16-17. Clemsen served as Smith's personal coach and accompanied the Cartersville, GA native to Bulgaria.
Key returners
- The Terps bring back multiple key wrestlers who competed in Big Ten duals last season.
- Jaron Smith headlines the group of returners as he is back in College Park for his eighth season. Last year, Smith placed seventh at the 2022 Southern Scuffle and went 1-2 at the 2022 NCAA Championships with a victory over Utah Valley's Evan Bockman. Smith will transition from the 197-weight class to a heavyweight this year.
- Dominic Solis returns for his third season. The Laurel native finished seventh at the 2022 Big Ten Championships with victories over Gerrit Nijenhuis, DJ Shannon, and Connor O'Neill. He also competed at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Fantastic FreshMen
- Maryland has a plethora of redshirt freshmen poised to make a big impact this year.
- Jaxon Smith, Ethen Miller and Braxton Brown, the headliners of Clemsen's eighth-ranked 2021 recruiting class, will see their first full season on the mat after redshirting last year. All three guys had big showings at last year's Clarion Open.
- John Martin Best will also be back after going down with a knee injury that ended his freshman season on Dec. 4 against Duke. Best earned the first dual victory of career with a 5-0 decision victory over Duke's Brandon LaRue.
- Jackson Cockrell, a redshirt freshman due to the COVID-19 ruling, has two years of experience under his belt and is expected to play a big role at 133 pounds.
- Kal Miller, the younger brother of Ethen, will see a lot of action as a true freshman. Miller starred for Park Hill High School and was a two-time Missouri State Champion.
