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Kal Miller

Wrestling

Terps Open Big Ten Slate At No. 10 Michigan, Michigan State


Maryland Terrapins (5-5, 0-0 B1G)
at
No. 10 Michigan Wolverines (3-0, 0-0 B1G)
January 10, 2025
Crisler Center 
6:00 p.m.
BTN
Watch
Maryland Terrapins (5-5, 0-0 B1G)
at
Michigan State Spartans (2-1, 0-0 B1G) 
January 12, 2024
East Lansing, MI
1:00 p.m.
B1G+
Watch
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- The Terps are set to open the 2025 Big Ten slate on Friday, Jan. 10 at No. 10 Michigan. The dual will take place in the Crisler Center at 6 pm on BTN. This is the second straight season that the Terps and Wolverines have kicked off their respective Big Ten campaigns against each other.

Maryland will then face Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 1 pm on B1G+ to conclude a two-match road swing. Last season, the Terps defeated Michigan State 28-15 in College Park to clinch the first-ever multi-win Big Ten season in program history. Braxton Brown, Ethen Miller and Jaxon Smith all picked up technical fall victories in the dual.


Probables
Maryland Weight Michigan
Tyler Garvin or Presden Sanchez 125 Christian Tanefeu or Nolan Wertanen
No. 14/15 Braxton Brown 133 Wilfried Tanefeu or Teddy Flores
Dario Lemus or Michael Pizzuto  141 No. 12/9 Sergio Lemley
No. 29/33 Kal Miller 149 No. 28 Dylan Gilcher
No. 6/8 Ethen Miller or Mekhi Neal  157 No. 16/19 Chase Saldate
  Alex Uryniak or Sammy Gautreau 165 No. 26 Beau Mantanona or No. 16 Brock Mantanona
No. 32 Branson John 174 No. 25 Joseph Walker
No. 13/11 Jaxon Smith 184 No. 19 Jaden Bullock
Chase Mielnik 197 No. 3/2 Jacob Cardenas
No. 13/14 Seth Nevills or Sam O'Brian HWT No. 10/12 Josh Heindselman
*Intermat/Flo Rankings

Probables
Maryland Weight Michigan State
Tyler Garvin or Presden Sanchez  125 Caleb Weiand or Nick Corday
No. 14/15 Braxton Brown 133 Andy Hampton
Dario Lemus or Michael Pizzuto   141 Jaden Crumpler or Sean Larkin
No. 29/33 Kal Miller  149 Clayton Jones
No. 6/8 Ethen Miller or Mekhi Neal 157 Braden Stauffenberg
Alex Uryniak or Sammy Gautreau 165 Jay Nivison
No. 32 Branson John 174 Ceasar Garza or Marty Larkin
No. 13/11 Jaxon Smith  184 Ryan Boucher or Cory Thomas
Chase Mielnik 197 No. 25/23 Remy Cotton
No. 13/14 Seth Nevills OR Sam O'Brian HWT Max Vanadia or Josh Terrill
*Intermat/Flo Rankings
 
Where we've been...
  • The Terps are 5-5 with wins over Little Rock, Bucknell, American, Kent State and Morgan State. Maryland's last two dates of competition were quad meets; first at Rider on Dec. 20 and then in Albany for Armbar at the Armory on Jan. 5
  • Maryland has also seen success in two open tournaments. Most recently, Jaxon Smith won the 184-title at the 2024 George Mason Patriot Open as 22 Terps competed overall. Smith picked up three wins overall and two over ranked opponents, including  one over No. 9 Chris Foca (Cornell) in the championship.
  • Chase Mielnik (197) and Dario Lemus (141) both made appearances in the championship match before ultimately finishing in second place. Mielnik pinned his first two opponents and beat his third by major decision. Lemus won three straight decisions, scoring double-digit points in each. 
  • 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.
  • 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. 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
     
Seth NevillsMaryland Wrestling vs. Kent State at The Pavillion in College Park, MD on November 03, 2024.Ian Cox/Maryland Terrapins
Seth Nevills won the 285-pound title at the Tiger Style Invite as part of his 11-0 season to this point. 
Four terps with Double-digit wins
  • Ethen Miller took home fourth place at the 2024 Big Ten Championships. This season, he's 12-0, highlighted by a Tiger Style Invite Championship where he picked up two ranked wins en route to the title, including a championship victory over Purdue's Joey Blaze, who now sits in the top-10 of the rankings. He also picked up two ranked wins in the Rider Quad and is 76-24 for this career.
  • Seth Nevills is back for his second year in College Park and is looking to build off two wins at his first-ever NCAA Tournament and a 17-10 overall season, despite missing several weeks due to injury. The former top-10 recruit and Penn State transfer is 11-0 this season, cruising in all eight dual matches as well as winning three matches en route to a Tiger Style Invite title. He has three ranked victories this season, highlighted by a win over then-No. 13 Dayton Pitzer of Pittsburgh and is 46-18 for his career.
  • After bumping up weights a couple weeks into the season last year, Braxton Brown is back for a complete season at 133. An NCAA qualifier at both weights, Brown finished the 2023-24 season as the team leader in wins (21). The redshirt junior from Allen, TX is 12-1 this season and is currently riding an eight-match winning streak. His season is highlighted by ranked wins over No. 11 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell), two-time All-American No. 14 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), No. 22 Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) and No. 32 Vinnie Santaniello (Pittsburgh). He holds a 67-26 career record.
  • Jaxon Smith's career is 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, 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. He is 10-3 this season, highlighted by winning the George Mason Patriot Open over No. 9 Chris Foca (Cornell), and is 72-24 for his career
Ethen Miller
Ethen Miller picked up two ranked wins en route to a Tiger Style Invite Championship at 157 pounds. 
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.
Braxton BrownMaryland Wrestling at NCAA Championships at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City , MO on Thursday, Mar. 21, 2024. Geoffrey Riccio/Maryland Athletics
The Terps have four two-time NCAA Qualifiers on the roster in Braxton Brown, Kal Miller, Ethen Miller and Jaxon Smith.
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. 
  • 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.
Ethen MillerMaryland Wrestling during the third session of the Big Ten Championship at Xfinity Center in College Park, MD on Sunday, Mar. 10, 2024. Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins
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. 
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Players Mentioned

Braxton Brown

Braxton Brown

133 lbs
Redshirt Junior
Dario Lemus

Dario Lemus

141 lbs
Redshirt Freshman
Chase Mielnik

Chase Mielnik

197 lbs
Redshirt Senior
Ethen Miller

Ethen Miller

157 lbs
Redshirt Junior
Kal Miller

Kal Miller

149 lbs
Junior
Seth Nevills

Seth Nevills

HWT
Graduate Student
Sam O

Sam O'Brian

HWT
Redshirt Junior
Michael Pizzuto

Michael Pizzuto

141 lbs
Redshirt Freshman
Jaxon Smith

Jaxon Smith

184 lbs
Redshirt Junior
Oscar Williams

Oscar Williams

HWT
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Braxton Brown

Braxton Brown

Redshirt Junior
133 lbs
Dario Lemus

Dario Lemus

Redshirt Freshman
141 lbs
Chase Mielnik

Chase Mielnik

Redshirt Senior
197 lbs
Ethen Miller

Ethen Miller

Redshirt Junior
157 lbs
Kal Miller

Kal Miller

Junior
149 lbs
Seth Nevills

Seth Nevills

Graduate Student
HWT
Sam O

Sam O'Brian

Redshirt Junior
HWT
Michael Pizzuto

Michael Pizzuto

Redshirt Freshman
141 lbs
Jaxon Smith

Jaxon Smith

Redshirt Junior
184 lbs
Oscar Williams

Oscar Williams

Freshman
HWT