Maryland Terrapins (3-0, 0-0 B1G)
vs.
Morgan State Bears (1-4, 0-1Â EIWA)
November 22, 2024
XFINITY Center Pavilion
7:00 p.m.
B1G+
Watch
COLLEGE PARK, MD --Â Maryland will host Morgan State in College Park this Friday as the Terps aim to continue their strong start to the season, Maryland, now 3-0, is coming off a dominant 38- -1 win over American last weekend.
Morgan State enters the matchup with a 1-3 record. After competing as an independent team last year upon returning to the wrestling mat after a 24-year hiatus and becoming the only HBCU to offer wrestling at the NCAA Division I Varsity Level, the Bears have joined the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) this season. Their young roster, which was 95% freshman last year, secured its first team win of the season last week with a 40-10 victory over Marymount at home.Â
The match will be Shrek Night as well as Mental Health Awareness Night. Fans are encouraged to wear green. Additionally, Maryland alum and current Executive Director of the HBCU Wrestling Initiative Jahi Jones will be in attendance as the match's honorary captain.Â
Probables
*Intermat Rankings
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Strong Start to the season
- Maryland wrestling is heading into its second home event of the season, remaining undefeated at 3-0.Â
- The Terps are coming off a 38 to -1 win over American on Saturday. Competing at South Carroll High School, the Terps dominated in front of a packed crowd lead by pins from Chase Mielnik and Jaxon Smith. This was the first time the Terps have shutout their opponent since defeating Duke 37-0 in 2022.
- The Terrapins were also boosted by a major decision victory by John Martin Best and a technical fall by Braxton Brown.Â
- Freshman Tyler Garvin showed poise in his match, coming back from trailing 4-0 to win 9-6 in overtime.Â
- During the 2024 Tiger Style Invite in Kansas City, Missouri, Maryland was able to capture a pair of individual titles from Ethen Miller (157) and Seth Nevills (285). 14 wrestlers competed overall with nine placing.
- No. 19 Miller won his championship bout by way of a 10-9 decision over Purdue's No. 18 Joey Blaze. He also defeated No. 24 Matty Bianchi (Little Rock) on the day and went 3-0 overall.
- No. 15 Nevills also went 3-0 on the day, highlighted by a sudden victory over Missouri's No. 23 Seth Nitzel in the championship bout. He picked up falls in both of his first two matches.
- No. 12 Braxton Brown (133) and Chase Milenik (197) each went 2-1 on the day and finished second after falling in their respective championship bouts.
- True freshman Branson John (174) went an impressive 4-2 on the day, battling through the backside to make it to the third place match before eventually taking home fourth place.
- Maryland wrestling kicked off its 2024-25 season with a 2-0 day in a home tri-meet. The Terps defeated Kent State 29-10 in their first match of the season, thanks to six wins by bonus points, led by technical falls from Jaxon Smith and Seth Nevills. In a 26-11 victory against Bucknell, the Terps wrestled several close matches that they came out on the right side of. The highlight of the match was a gritty win for Braxton Brown in a battle of two top-15 wrestlers.
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2023-24 Season Recap
- The Terps are coming off a second straight strong Big Ten season under Clemsen, highlighted by the program's first-ever multi-win Big Ten season. First, the Terps dominated Northwestern on Jan. 14, marking the most points scored by the team in Big Ten competition since joining the league. Maryland added its second win by way of 28-15 victory over Michigan State on Feb. 11 with five total wins by bonus points.Â
- Maryland hosted the Big Ten Championships for the first time in program history. In front of over 10,000 people in each of the four sessions, the Terps set program-bests in points (39), place (10th) and placers (four: Jaxon Smith, Ethen Miller, Braxton Brown and Seth Nevills).
- For the second straight season, the Terps had five NCAA qualifiers. Before 2023, five qualifiers were the most since 2014. At the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City, MO, the hometown of Ethen and Kal Miller, Maryland finished with 8.5 team points, its most since 2019. Four of Maryland's five qualifiers picked up at least one victory, with Nevills leading the way with two.
- The Terps also saw success at open tournaments. Kal Miller became a two-time Tiger Style Invite Champion in early November in his hometown. Smith finished in second place at the illustrious Cliff Keen Invitational, picking up a semifinal victory over former NCAA Runner-Up Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State. Finally, Brown took home first place at the George Mason Patriot Open that same weekend, just a couple weeks after bumping up to 133 pounds.
Four Terps finished on the podium at the 2024 Big Ten Championships.
Jaxon Smith and
Ethen Miller have both placed at Big Tens in each of the past two seasons.Â
About the terps
- The Terps return five 2024 NCAA Qualifiers (Braxton Brown, Kal Miller, Ethen Miller, Jaxon Smith and Seth Nevills) as well as 2022 Qualifier Dom Solis. Brown, both Millers and Smith are all two-time NCAA qualifiers, also qualifying in 2023.
- Maryland also brings in another talented freshmen class including five on the MatScouts' 2024 Senior Big Board in Oscar Williams (No. 100), Mekhi Neal (No. 141), Abram Cline (No. 165), Branson John (No. 182) and Sammy Gautreau (No. 236). Tyler Garvin, Presden Sanchez and Alex Uryniak round out the stellar class.
- Maryland made several staff changes during the offseason, first by promoting Nick Brascetta, who has been with Clemsen since he started in College Park, to Associate Head Coach. Additionally, with the departure of assistant coach Devin Mellon who left to pursue opportunities outside of wrestling, the Terps promoted Elijah Oliver and Ethan Laird to full-time assistant coaches. Finally, Pittsburgh alum Cole Matthews was brought in to replace Laird as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach.
Terps at new weights
- This season will showcase several familiar faces in new places in the lineups as multiple weight classes shuffle.Â
- The Terrapins have both Millers in the lineup once again this season---just in new spots. Both brothers have bumped up one weight class, putting younger brother Kal at 149 pounds and older brother Ethen at 157. The Kansas City, MO natives who both wrestled at Park Hill High School are two-time qualifiers at their old weights.
- Kal finished the 2023-24 season with a 13-12 record with four ranked wins in the regular season (Cole Matthews 2x, Dan Fongaro, Josh Edmond). He also won the Tiger Style Invite at 141 pounds.Â
- Ethen finished the 2023-24 season on an absolute tear, winning the final six Big Ten matches of the regular season, with three coming against ranked opponents and two of those by major decision. He carried that momentum into the Big Ten Championships in College Park where he took home 4th place on the heels of upset victories over Iowa's third-seeded Caleb Rathjen and Ohio State's Dylan D'Emilio.Â
- Last season, Chase Mielnik was at at 184 pounds while Jaxon Smith wrestled at 197---now the two will swap weights
- Smith has been incredibly impressive for the Terps, highlighted by a 2023 Third Place finish at the Big Ten Championships and a 2023 bloodround appearance at NCAA Championships. Ranked as high as No. 3 at points last season, he finished with an 18-7 record. Smith also has made waves in freestyle wrestling, winning the 2022 U20 US Open and the Pan-American Championships, earning him a spot on the 2022 World Team.
- Mielnik, a redshirt senior from Downingtown, PA, finished the season on an incredibly high note, earning 9th place as the 14-seed at Big Ten Championships with three straight wins over No. 11, No. 9 and No. 13. Mielnik went 10-17 last season.
Both Miller brothers will be bumping up a weight class, with Kal wrestling at 149 this year and Ethen at 157.Â
