Terps Finish Day One Of Big Ten Championships With Two NCAA Qualifiers

ANN ARBOR, MI -- The Maryland wrestling program wrapped up the first day of the 2023 Big Ten Championships with two NCAA Qualifiers in Jaxon Smith and Ethen Miller. Both guys also put themselves in placement matches with their performances.

Smith won his first match before narrowly falling in sudden victory to 3rd-seeded Zac Braunagel (Illinois). He then won two consecutive 3-1 decisions, the first of which made him an NCAA qualifier, to put himself into the consolation semifinals tomorrow morning. With a win there, he will wrestle in the third-place match.

Miller dropped his opening match and then advanced in the consolation bracket due to a disqualification by Wisconsin's Austin Gomez for a dangerous slam. The win punched Miller's ticket to Tulsa, but he had to medically forfeit his next match. He is slated in the seventh-place match tomorrow morning.

Kal Miller and Jaron Smith are also all alive in the tournament. Both need to win two matches in the ninth-place bracket tomorrow to secure the final NCAA allocation spot for their respective weight classes. Miller, who came into the tournament as the 14th-seed, won two matches in impressive fashion. Braxton Brown is still competiting in the ninth-place bracket and is in prime position to earn a wild card bid to NCAAs next week.

The Terps finished the day with 19.5 team points The last time the Terps had a team point total that high came in the 2018 Big Ten Championships when the team finished with 30.5.

Full Results

125-Pounds: Braxton Brown

Round of 16: No. 7 Brown major dec. No. 10 Gary Steen (PSU)
Quarters: No. 2 Liam Cronin (NEB) dec. (11-7) No. 7 Brown
Consi Round 2: No. 8 Dean Peterson (RUT) dec. (8-3) Brown

133-Pounds: Jackson Cockrell

Round of 16: No. 3 Lucas Byrd (ILL) fall (4:12) No. 14 Cockrell
Consi Round 1: No. 11 Henry Porter (IND) fall (0:16) No. 14 Cockrell
Ninth-Place Quarters: No. 11 Porter tech fall (17-2) No. 14 Cockrell

141-Pounds: Kal Miller

Round of 16: No. 3 Brock Hardy (NEB) dec. (6-0) No. 14 Miller
Consi Round 1: No. 14 Miller dec. (4-1) No. 6 Danny Pucino (ILL)
Consi Round 2: No. 5 Jakob Bergeland (MINN) SV (4-2) No. 14 Miller
Ninth-Place Quarters: No. 14 Miller dec. (9-3) No. 10 Cole Mattin (MICH)

149-Pounds: Ethen Miller

Round of 16: No. 9 Chance Lamer (MICH) SV (5-3) No. 8 Miller
No. 8 Miller advanced by DQ from No. 2 Austin Gomez (MINN)
No. 3 Yahya Thomas (NU) wins by MFF

157-Pounds: Michael North

Round of 16: No. 3 Kendall Coleman (PUR) major dec. (12-3) No. 14 North
Consi Round 1: No. 14 North fall (0:38) No. 11 Brayton Lee (MINN)
Consi Round 2: No. 5 Cobe Siebrecht (IOWA) fall (3:33) No. 14 North
9th-Place Quarters: No. 13 Andrew Clark (RUT) dec. (4-0) No. 14 North

165-Pounds: John Martin Best

Round of 16: No. 3 Patrick Kenneday (IOWA) major dec. (22-8) No. 14 Best
Consi Round 1: No. 11 Nick South (IND) dec. (4-0) Best
9th-Place Quarters: Best win by MFF

174-Pounds: Dominic Solis

Round of 16: No. 5 Edmond Ruth (ILL) dec. (5-1) Solis
Consi Round 1: Solis dec. (5-1) No. 13 Josh Otto (WIS)
Consi Round 2: No. 6 Donnell Washington (IND) dec. (11-6) No. 12 Solis

184-Pounds: Kevin Makosy

Round of 16: No. 3 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) tech fall (18-0) Makosy
Consi Round 1: No. 11 Evan Bates (NU) dec. (6-0) No. 14 Makosy
9th-Place Quarters: No. 11 Bates (NU) dec. (8-1) No. 14 Makosy

197-Pounds: Jaxon Smith

Round of 16: No. 6 Smith dec. (8-3) No. 11 Billy Janzer (Rutgers)
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Zac Braunagel (ILL) SV (6-4) No. 6 Smith
Consi Round 2: No. 6 Smith dec. (3-1) No. 12 Andrew Davison (NU)
Consi Quarters: No. 6 Smith dec. (3-1) No. 8 Braxton Amos (WIS)

HWT: Jaron Smith

Round of 16: No. 8 Jacob Bullock (IND) dec. (4-1) No. 9 Smith
Consi Round 2: No. 7 Tate Orndorff (OSU) dec. (4-2) No. 9 Smith

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Players Mentioned

John Martin Best: 165 lbs; Redshirt Freshman

Braxton Brown: 125 lbs; Redshirt Freshman

Kevin Makosy: 184 lbs.; Redshirt Junior

Ethen Miller: 149 lbs; Redshirt Freshman

Michael North: 149 lbs.; Redshirt Junior

Jaron Smith: HWT; Graduate Student

Jaxon Smith: 197 lbs; Redshirt Freshman

Dominic Solis: 174/184 lbs; Sophomore

Kal Miller: 141 lbs; Freshman

Players Mentioned

John Martin Best
: Redshirt Freshman
: 165 lbs

Braxton Brown
: Redshirt Freshman
: 125 lbs

Kevin Makosy
: Redshirt Junior
: 184 lbs.

Ethen Miller
: Redshirt Freshman
: 149 lbs

Michael North
: Redshirt Junior
: 149 lbs.

Jaron Smith
: Graduate Student
: HWT

Jaxon Smith
: Redshirt Freshman
: 197 lbs

Dominic Solis
: Sophomore
: 174/184 lbs

Kal Miller
: Freshman
: 141 lbs