STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The Maryland wrestling team completed day one of the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday, automatically qualifying three wrestlers for the NCAA Championships and advancing five total to day two.

This marks the fifth consecutive year the Terps have qualified three or more wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, with an opportunity to add more qualifiers on Sunday.

Maryland finished day one with 28 team points, sitting in 11th place overall.

The first NCAA qualifier for the Terps was No. 5 seed Carter Young at 149 pounds. Young opened the tournament with an 8-1 decision over No. 12 Gavin Brown (Purdue) before falling in a narrow 5-3 decision to No. 4 Lachlan McNeil (Michigan). He responded with back-to-back major decision victories in the consolation bracket to secure an automatic qualification in the Big Ten's nine qualifying spots. Young will continue competing Sunday for a top-six finish.

The second NCAA qualifier was No. 4 seed Branson John at 197 pounds. The true sophomore qualified for his second consecutive NCAA Championship after defeating Iowa's No. 13 Gabe Arnold in a last-second 4-1 decision. After falling to Ohio State's No. 5 Luke Geog in an 8-5 decision, John earned an 8-5 sudden victory over Minnesota's No. 11 Gavin Nelson before dropping a close 2-1 decision to No. 8 Gabe Sollars (Indiana). John will compete Sunday in the seventh-place match.

The final automatic qualifier of the day for Maryland was Dario Lemus at 141 pounds. The weight class has just seven qualifying spots, the fewest in the conference, but Lemus battled through the consolation bracket to earn his first NCAA Championship berth. After a 6-4 loss to Penn State's No. 6 Braeden Davis, Lemus won three straight matches, including an upset fall over Michigan's No. 5 Dylan Ragusin and a 9-7 decision over Northwestern's No. 8 Billy DeKraker to secure his qualification. He will compete Sunday for a top-six finish.

Braxton Brown (133) will also have an opportunity to earn NCAA at-large bid on Sunday as he compete in the semifinals of the ninth-place bracket.

Day two of the Big Ten Championships resumes Sunday, March 8, with Session III beginning at noon and featuring the consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches.

Full Results:

125 | #14 Abram Cline:
1st Rnd: #3 Spencer Moore (ILL) MD (9-0) Cline
Consi Rnd. 1: #11 Kael Lauridsen (NEB) DEC (1-0) Cline
125, 9th Pl. QF | #10 Dedrick Navarro (NW) MD 10-0 Cline

133 | #8 Braxton Brown:
1st Rnd: #9 Dylan Shawver (RUT) DEC (2-2 UTB) Brown 
Consi Rnd. 2: #2 Lucas Byrd (ILL) MD (8-0) Brown

141 | #11 Dario Lemus:
1st Rnd: #6 Braeden Davis (PSU) DEC (6-4) Lemus
Consi Rnd. 1: Lemus MD (10-1) #14 Jaden Crumpler (MSU)
Consi Rnd. 2: Lemus F (12-3, 2:46) #5 Ragusin (MICH)
Consi Rnd. 3: Lemus DEC (9-7) No. 8 DeKraker (NU) 

149 | #5 Carter Young:
1st Rnd: Young DEC (8-1)#12 Gavin Brown (PUR)
QF: #4 Lachlan McNeil (MICH) DEC (5-3) Young
Consi Rnd. 2: Young MD (8-0) #12 Hibler (NU)
Consi Rnd. 3: Young MD (12-3) No. 7 Clark (RUT) 

157 | #13 Mekhi Neal:
1st Rnd: #4 Cameron Catrabone (MICH) F (6-0, 4:28) Neal
Consi Rnd. 1: #5 Tony White (RUT) DEC (8-1) Neal
9th Pl. QF: #12 Darius Marines (MSU) F (5-3, 4:37) Neal 

165 | #13 AJ Rodrigues:
1st Rnd: #4 LJ Araujo (NEB) F (15-1, 6:18) Rodrigues
Consi Rnd. 1: Rodrigues F (6:24) #12 Justin Gates (MICH) 
Consi Rnd. 2: #6 Scoles (ILL) TF (18-2, 4:22) Rodrigues 
9th Pl. QF: #12 Justin Gates (MICH)  DEC (2-1) Rodrigues 

174 | #14 Seth Digby:
1st Rnd: #11 Lenny Pinto (RUT) TF (19-4, 3:19) Digby 
Consi Rnd. 1: No. 6 Derek Gilcher (IND) DEC (4-2) Digby
9th Pl. QF: #10 Eddie Enright (NW) MD (12-3) Digby

184 | #12 Sepanta Ahanj-Elias:
1st Rnd: #5 Chris Moore (ILL) DEC (8-2) Ahanj-Elais
Consi Rnd. 1: Ahanj-Elias DEC (4-2) #13  Ryan Boucher (MSU)
Consi Rnd. 2: #6 Fishback (OSU) TF (17-1, 4:46) Ahanj-Elias
9th Pl. QF: Ahanj-Elias SV (8-5) #13 Ryan Boucher (MSU)

197 | #4 Branson John:
1st Rnd: John DEC (4-1) #13 Gabe Arnold (IOWA) 
QF: # 5 Luke Geog (OSU) DEC (9-4) John 
Consi Rnd. 2: John DEC SV (8-5) #11 Nelson (MINN)
Consi Rnd. 3: #8 Gabe Sollars (IND) DEC (2-1) John 

HWT | #12 Joey Schneck:
1st Rnd: #5 Braxton Amos (WIS) TF (19-3, 6:21) Schneck 
Consi Rnd.1: #13 Gabe Christenson (NU) DEC (7-2) Schneck
9th Pl. QF: #13 Gabe Christenson (NU) DEC (4-2) Schneck