When Josh Asper took the mats in his first college wrestling tournament in November, he was paired against Ohio State’s Colt Sponseller in his fourth match. That match proved to be the Terrapin freshman’s wake-up call, as he lost to Sponseller, currently ranked No. 2 in the country, by way of a technical fall.

“I had no idea he was that good going into the match, and I acted like any other match,” Asper said. “But after the first period, I was like, ‘Wow, this guy is really good.’ And he went on to crush me.”

To his credit, though, Asper had only practiced for a week leading up to the tournament after recovering from a PCL knee injury he suffered in the summer.

That match may be the only knock on Asper so far this season, as he has compiled a 34-7 record in his redshirt season. Riding a 17-match win streak, Asper has won four consecutive open tournaments and has not lost so far in 2009.

While Asper has wrestled phenomenally this season, he is not allowed to wrestle in the Terps’ dual meets due to his redshirt.

“[Redshirting] has allowed him to get solidified with his position of being a Division I wrestler and understand the rigors of balancing wrestling and school,” coach Kerry McCoy said. “He continues to improve, and once we get him in the spotlight and starting, the sky will be the limit.”

According to NCAA wrestling rules, a redshirt may wrestle an unlimited number of times throughout the course of the season as long as he wrestles unattached to a school. In open tournaments, there are no team scores, thus Asper is able to compete.

If Asper were able to compete for the Terps, he would be in the 165-pound weight class, along with current starter Brian Letters. While Letters has done respectably this year at 17-10, Asper would have certainly given him some competition.

“[Letters] is a great wrestler, and I love going up against him during practice,” Asper said. “We go back and forth, so it is great practice and makes me get better.”

It should not come as a surprise, though, that Asper has done so well this season.

When in fifth grade, Asper tagged along to his brother’s practice and fell in love with the sport. After that, when Asper started practicing with the team, he stopped focusing on his first sport, basketball, and started going full-strength toward wrestling.

Hailing from Parkton, Asper went on to have one of the greatest high school wrestling careers in the state of Maryland. He finished at Hereford High School riding an 87-match win streak.

He will go down as only the third wrestler in Maryland history to win four state championships. To add to that, he won each championship in a different weight class.

Starting in the 131-pound weight class, Asper moved up in weight every year until reaching 171 in his senior season. That season, he went 37-0 and took second place in the Junior Nationals Tournament in North Dakota.

Not only did Asper compile a 151-7 high school record, he played basketball, lacrosse and was a two-time all-district linebacker for Hereford High School.

As successful as he was during high school, Asper was set on coming to this university after wrestling in Cole Field House during the state championship. He was also fielding offers from Clarion and UNC-Greensboro, but decided on the Terps.

“The Terps were a great choice for me because of their great wrestling program and academics, as well as being close to home,” Asper said.

Despite posting a 6-4 record to begin the season, his skills do not seem lost in transition from high school to collegiate wrestling.

“You never know what a freshman will do when he gets to college, and he has really surprised us all,” McCoy said. “I love how well he has improved and strives to get better.”

Asper’s largest struggle may be simply dealing with a redshirt season and his inability to help his team right now, but he will be looking to start next season.

Next season, Asper will have the possibility to either compete in the 165-pound weight class with Letters or move up to 174. Letters also may drop back down to 157, his weight class from last year, to make room for Asper at 165.

“We have a lot of great players coming back next year, and I can’t wait to be apart of it,” Asper said. “Ultimately, I want to win the ACC championship and go to nationals, but I really just want to contribute to the team however I can.”

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