Maryland vs. Big Ten Championships
March 9 & 10, 2024
XFINITY Center
BTN/B1G+
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Maryland will host the illustrious Big Ten Wrestling Championships for the first time in program history on March 9-10 in the XFINITY Center. Previously, the Terps hosted the ACC Championships 15 times from 1954 to 2014, but this will be the first time hosting the tournament in the nation's premier wrestling conference.
The Terps are led by a trio of standout redshirt sophomores in
Jaxon Smith (197),
Braxton Brown (133) and
Ethen Miller (149, who are all top-seven seeds and were all NCAA Qualifiers last year. Smith is the second-seed at 197 pounds, the highest seed for a Maryland wrestler at the Big Ten Championships ever. Maryland is also powered by a graduate transfer heavyweight in
Seth Nevills who earned the five-seed and will be competing in the Big Ten Championships for the first time since 2020.
Kal Miller (141) and Dom Solis (174) are both former NCAA Qualifiers and both slot in as 11-seeds.
Last year in Ann Arbor, Smith finished in third-place at 197-pounds, the highest finish for a Maryland wrestler at Big Tens since 2019.
Kal Miller entered the tournament as the 14th-seed but put together a remarkable run on the backside of the bracket to finish ninth and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
Ethen Miller place eighth and
Braxton Brown ninth. Maryland's 24 team points were the most in a Big Ten Tournament since 2018.
Action will be feature on Big Ten Network throughout the weekend, but B1G+ will feature coverage of all four mats. Fans can also follow the action by following the program's official Twitter account
@TerpsWrestling.
Fans will need to abide by XFINITY Center's clear bag policy to enter the building.
Merchandise will be sold on the XFINITY Center concourse.
Sales will be credit card only. Retail hours on Saturday will be 9:30 am-2:30 pm and 4:30 pm-7:30 pm as well as on Sunday from 11:30 am-2:30 pm and 3:30 pm-5:30 pm (or until sold out of product).
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)
Saturday, March 9
10:00 AM: Session One - First Round, Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks
5 PM: Session Two - Consolation Matches, Wrestlebacks
7 PM: Semifinals
Sunday, March 10
Noon: Session Three - Consolation Semis, 7th-place matches
4:30 PM: Session 4 - Placement matches
TERP ENTRIES
125: 13-seed
Tommy Capul
133: 7-seed
Braxton Brown
141: 11-seed
Kal Miller
149: 6-seed
Ethen Miller
157: 12-seed
Michael North
165: 14-seed
AJ Rodrigues
174: 11-seed
Dominic Solis
184: 14-seed
Chase Mielnik
197: 2-seed
Jaxon Smith
HWT: 5-seed
Seth Nevills
b1g time
- The Terps clinched the best conference season since joining the Big Ten with wins over Northwestern and Michigan State.
- 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.
- Against Minnesota, Braxton Brown and Ethen Miller both picked up wins over top-20 opponents.
- The Terps followed that up with an impressive showing at home against Michigan State, topping the Spartans 28-15 thanks to three technical fall wins and one by major decision.
Dom Solis has found a way to pull out close victories in all three of Maryland's conference wins over the past two seasons.
The jaxon smith profile
- Jaxon Smith made headlines last year as a redshirt freshman by springing several ranked upsets and eventually taking third at 197 pounds in the Big Ten Championships. He went on to make it to the Bloodround at NCAAs.
- This year, he has continued that success even more and has solidified himself as a top-five wrestler at 197 pounds.
- His season is highlighted by a second place finish at the illustrious Cliff Keen Invitational where he knocked off top-seeded Tanner Sloan, the 2023 NCAA runner-up, in the semifinals.
- In total, he has wins over five ranked opponents this season. He is 15-3 overall, 10-1 in duals and 6-1 in the Big Ten.
- Most recently in Big Ten competition, he won by technical fall against Michigan State's No. 30 Kael Wisler and by technical fall against Rutgers' Hadyn Packer.
- Smith is now the highest-seeded wrestler at the Big Ten Championships in program history.
Jaxon Smith after his semifinal win over top-seeded Tanner Sloan at the illustrious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
B1G Tear from Ethen miller
- Ethen Miller is on a recent tear in Big Ten competition, winning five consecutive matches, including two over top-15 opponents.
- Miller made a big statement at Indiana when he majored No. 14 Graham Rooks, avenging a loss to Rooks from last season.
- 12 days later, he scored two takedowns in the third period to claim a 7-2 win over No. 13 Drew Roberts.
- Miller also won by technical fall against Northwestern and Michigan State and by decision against Penn State.
- Most recently, Miller made another statement with a 13-3 major decision against Rutger's 25th-ranked Michael Cetta.
- Miller earned the sixth-seed at Big Tens in a loaded 149-weight class.
Ethen Miller has put himself in terrific postseason position with his recent four-match winning streak.
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.
