Maryland (3-4, 1-4 B1G)
vs.
#1 Penn State (6-0, 3-0 B1G)
January 28, 2024
XFINITY Center Pavilion
Noon EDT
BTN
COLLEGE PARK, MD - Maryland will host No. 1 Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 28 at noon. The dual will air on Big Ten Network, the Terps' first Big Ten Network action of the season. The match is completely sold-out and no tickets are available.
Most recently, the Terps fell in a close dual to Indiana, but saw
Kal Miller and
Ethen Miller each pick up ranked wins.
Braxton Brown and
Jaxon Smith also collected wins on the day.
The Terps' Big Ten Season is highlighted by a big 29-15 win over Northwestern to move to 1-1 in Big Ten competition. Maryland won six bouts in the match, including five by bonus points.
Michael North provided the big highlight of the match, pinning 13th-ranked Trevor Chumbley to put the Terps ahead 21-5. North was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week in the following days.
Probables
*Intermat Rankings
b1g time
- The Terps are halfway through their eight-match Big Ten Slate and hold a record of 1-3.
- After a tough loss to Michigan at home to open the schedule, the Terps rebounded with a big win over Northwestern, the program's first victory over the Wildcats ever.
- Braxton Brown, Kal Miller and Ethen Miller scored three consecutive technical fall wins to bring the XFINITY Center Pavilion crowd to life. Michael North continued that momentum with his massive pin in the third period against No. 13. Dominic Solis got the Terps back on the board after intermission with a come-from-behind win and then Jaxon Smith put the finishing touches on the match with another Maryland win by technical fall.
- The 29 points were the most Maryland has scored in a Big Ten dual since joining the conference. The win was the Terps' third Big Ten win since joining the conference.
- The Terps also saw some good individual performances against Indiana. Kal Miller knocked off No. 20 Dan Fongaro while Ethen Miller made a statement with a 12-1 major decision over No. 14 Graham Rooks, avenging a loss to Rooks from last season.
Jaxon Smith after his semifinal win over top-seeded Tanner Sloan at the illustrious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
jaxon and kal make early noise
- Jaxon Smith and Kal Miller have both earned huge wins thise season that have shot them both up to their highest individual rankings ever.
- Jaxon's season is highlighted by his second-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where he defeated first-seeded and third-ranked Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State in the semifinals in an 8-2 decision. Sloan was the 2022-23 NCAA runner-up at 197.
- Smith also has ranked wins over No. 18 Mac Stout, No. 23 Wyatt Voelker and No. 29 Bobby Striggow on his resume.
- Miller started his season by picking up his first career win by technical fall against American. He followed it up the next weekend by bringing home his second consecutive Tiger Style Invite championship in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. He accomplished the feat in thrilling fashion, knocking off Missouri's No. 16 Josh Edmond in a tiebreaker after riding him out for the entire 30-second period.
- Miller saved his best work for the Terps' big dual against No. 18 Pittsburgh, besting No. 7 Cole Matthews, a 2022 All-American and two-time ACC Champion, in resounding fashion with a 12-4 major decision. Miller brought the boom early with a slick seven-point move and added a late takedown to cap it off. He beat Matthews for a second time at the F&M open.
- Smith is 4-0 in Big Ten duals while Miller is 2-1, with a win by technical fall and a ranked decision win under his belt.
Jaxon Smith after his semifinal win over top-seeded Tanner Sloan at the illustrious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Early season team success
- The Terps got off to a strong first half of the season, kicking it all off with a dominant 30-7 win at American where they won eight bouts, including four by bonus points. Kal Miller and Jaxon Smith both notched wins by technical fall to lead the way.
- Maryland then followed it up with a strong showing in the second annual Tiger Style Invite. For the second consecutive year, Kal Miller took home first place in his hometown of Kansas City, knocking off No. 16 Josh Edmond from Missouri to claim the 141-pound title.
- Seth Nevills and Dario Lemus each won three matches on the day, finishing at second and third in their respective weight classes (285 & 141). In his semifinal match, Nevills picked up a ranked win against No. 27 Josiah Hill (Little Rock).
- Maryland dropped a hard-fought, narrow dual at home on Monday, Nov. 20 to No. 18 Pittsburgh where the two team split bouts. Five Terps picked up wins, Braxton Brown, Kal Miller, Ethen Miller, Michael North and Jaxon Smith, with four of them coming against ranked opponents. The dual marked Brown's debut at 133 pounds.
- The Terps wrapped up 2023 action at Morgan State where they dominated en route to a 35-6 victory. Braxton Brown impressed with a first-period fall while Dario Lemus cruised to a win by technical fall in his first career dual match.
Kal Miller celebrates his ranked win to caputure the Tiger Style Invite Championship in his hometown of Kansas City, MO.
Building the prograM
- The Terps are coming off a 2022-23 season that was the program's best in recent memory.
- Maryland finished with 10 dual wins, the highest mark since the 2012-13 season. The Terps also had five NCAA qualifiers last season (Braxton Brown, Ethen Miller, Kal Miller, Jaron Smith and Jaxon Smith), marking the most qualifiers since 2014. All five guys remained in competition on the second day of tournament action, the most since 2010.
- Additionally, Jaxon Smith finished in third place at 197 pounds at the 2023 Big Ten Championships, the highest finish for a Maryland wrestler since 2019.
- On November 18, 2022, Maryland defeated No. 16 Pittsburgh to earn the program's first ranked win since 2013. In the days following that victory, the Terps entered the NWCA Poll for the first time since 2013.
- The program also picked up its first Big Ten win since 2016 in a 19-18 win over Purdue as well as its first victory over the storied Oklahoma Sooners in program history.
Terps celebrating after the win over Purdue on 02/10/2023,
big Ten championships take college park
- For the first time in program history, Maryland will host the Big Ten Championships, one of the nation's most premier wrestling events each year.
- The Championships will take place all day on March 9-10 on the main court in the XFINITY Center as all 14 schools come to College Park to crown conference champions at each weight class and overall. The action will air all weekend on Big Ten Network and B1G+.
- Last year's Championships were hosted by Michigan in Ann Arbor. Jaxon Smith took home third-place at 197 pounds, the highest finish in the Championships for a Terp since 2019.
- The Terrapins finished the 2023 Championships with 24 team points, the most since 2018. Three Terps (Kal Miller, Ethen Miller and Jaxon Smith) earned automatic qualifications to the 2023 NCAA Championships through their finishes in Ann Arbor, also the most since 2018.
- The Terps hosted the ACC Championships 15 times from 1954 to 2014 until the school left for the Big Ten Conference, most recently in 2013. Maryland won 24 ACC titles during that time, including the first 20.
B1G Tournament Information
Maryland after last year's dual win over Binghamton.
