Maryland
Minnesota
Maryland Wrestling Set to Face No. 6 Minnesota
2/6/2026 9:55:00 AM | Wrestling
COLLEGE PARK, MD — The Terps continue the 2025–26 season with the final three duals of their homestretch, hosting No. 6 Minnesota on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside the Schanwald Pavilion on B1G+.
Sunday's matchup marks the seventh all-time meeting between Maryland and the Golden Gophers, dating back to 2015 when the Terps joined the Big Ten.
Maryland will be seeking its first victory in the series.
Probables| Maryland | Weight | No. 6 Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| Abram Cline or Presden Sanchez | 125 | #10 Jore Volk |
| #14 Braxton Brown | 133 | Brandon Morvari -or- Chris Cannon |
| Dario Lemus or Ryan Kennedy | 141 | #9 Vance Vombaur |
| Michael Pizzuto or #4 Carter Young | 149 | #17 Drew Roberts |
| Mekhi Neal or Nathan Perry | 157 | #19 Charlie Millard |
| Alex Uryniak or AJ Rodrigues | 165 | #11 Andrew Sparks |
| Seth Digby | 174 | Clayton Whiting |
| Sepanta Ahanj-Elias | 184 | Max McEnelly |
| #17 Branson John | 197 | #25 Gavin Nelson -or- Gabe Nagel |
| Oscar Williams or Joey Schneck | HWT | #10 Koy Hopke -or- Bennett Tabor |
- True freshmen Ryan Kennedy and Sepanta-Ahanj Elias each earned their first career dual wins for the Terps against No. 18 Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 11.
- At 141 pounds, Kennedy secured a tightly contested 6–3 decision over Wisconsin's Carson Exferd after the bout was scoreless through the first period. He sealed the win with a late takedown in the final 45 seconds.
- At 184, Ahanj-Elias, wrestling a weight class down, dominated David Malin en route to a 13–1 major decision, controlling the match from start to finish.
Maryland enters the upcoming matchup with a 4–7 overall record, earning wins over Gardner-Webb, The Citadel, Morgan State, and American.
The Terps have opened Big Ten competition against Northwestern, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, and Rutgers.
Key individual performances include:
Carter Young (149 lbs) — owns a 9–1 record, with his lone loss coming against the nation's top-ranked wrestler. Young has recorded ranked wins over Joseph Zargo (No. 17, Wisconsin), Gavin Brown (No. 21, Purdue), Joey Butler (Indiana), and Andrew Clark (No. 29, Rutgers).
Branson John (197 lbs) — notched victories over Wyatt Ingham (No. 28, Wisconsin) and Gabe Sollars (No. 13, Indiana), and recorded a pin against Northwestern.
Braxton Brown (133 lbs) — holds a 6–3 dual record with multiple technical falls, including wins over Blake Boarman (Purdue) and Dylan Shawver (No. 27, Rutgers).
Additional Big Ten wins for the Terps have come from Ryan Kennedy (141 lbs) over Carson Exford (Wisconsin), Sepanta Ahanj-Elias (184 lbs) over David Malin (Wisconsin), AJ Rodrigues (165 lbs) over Isaac Ruble (Purdue), Joey Schneck (285 lbs) over Caleb Marzolino (Indiana), and Dario Lemus (141 lbs) over Mason Gibson (Rutgers).
- The Terps are coming off one of their most successful seasons since joining the Big Ten. Maryland set program records for points and individual placers at the Big Ten Championships, recorded its highest team finish, and secured the most regular-season dual wins in program history. A signature moment came with a victory over No. 10 Michigan — the program's first win over a top-10 opponent since Nov. 20, 2009.
- At the NCAA Championships, Maryland matched its highest team point total and finish since 2014. Jaxon Smith earned All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at 184 pounds, becoming the program's first All-American since 2019. The Terps qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Championships — their most since 2012 — including returners Braxton Brown, Branson John, and Jaxon Smith, while also setting a new program record for Big Ten dual victories.
- Head Coach Alex Clemsen enters his seventh season leading the program, joined by associate head coach Nick Brascetta. Assistant coach Ethan Laird returns for his third season, while Cole Matthews has been promoted to assistant coach in his second year with the Terps.
