Having not won a single bout in the opening seven of the match, No. 18 Braxton Brown took the mat for Maryland wrestling.

After securing a takedown and four near fall points in the first period, Brown flipped Ohio State’s Brendan McCrone onto his back, holding him tightly against the mat. The quick move by Brown scored him a pin, a rare win on a frustrating day for the Terps.

Brown’s pin was Maryland’s only victory of the match, as the Terps fell to the Buckeyes, 38-6.

“We train everyday for moments like this,” Brown said. “You just come in here and expect to win.” 

Starting at 149-pounds for the match, No. 18 Ethen Miller would face his highest ranked wrestler to date in No. 3 Sammy Sasso.

In an even first period, Sasso scored a late takedown on Miller to lead 2-0 after the opening period. Starting in the down position, Sasso escaped quickly to open the second, and added a takedown to extend his lead to 5-0. 

In the third period, Sasso was too much for Miller to handle. A takedown coupled by four near fall points ensured opening bout bonus points for Ohio State by way of Sasso’s 12-1 major decision.

[Maryland wrestling falls to Campbell, beats Virginia to close out Virginia Duals]

Maryland’s early struggles continued to plague the team as it moved to the middle weight classes.

Kevin Schork could only score 5 escape points against No. 22 Paddy Gallagher before dropping the 157-pound bout by tech fall. Down 9-0 after the opening two bouts, John Martin Best attempted to right the ship at 165-pounds — but up against No. 8 Carson Kharchla, Best was unable to get it done.

Best was in a good position heading into the second period down 2-0 after only surrendering a takedown in the first. But Kharchla proved his mettle in the final period. The Buckeye wrestler warded off any attack Best had, as Best scored two escape points in a 7-2 decision for Kharchla. 

Dominic Solis came the closest any Terp came to securing a victory throughout the opening five bouts.

Solis took the 174-pound bout to the extra period against Isaac Wilcox after an even 1-1 bout through three periods. In sudden victory, Wilcox forced Solis onto his back and got good positioning, securing the takedown and a 3-1 decision.

“You have off nights and on nights,” coach Alex Clemsen said. “And [Solis] had an off night.”

[Maryland wrestling sweeps Day One of Virginia Duals against Oklahoma and Ohio]

Chase Mielnik dropped his bout at 184-pounds to No. 5 Kaleb Romero by a tech fall, and Maryland found itself in a 20-0 hole heading to the heavyweights.

As Maryland’s deficit in the team score grew to 26-0 after a Maryland forfeit at 197-pounds, No. 29 Jaron Smith had an opportunity to score the Terps their first points of the dual.

Tied 1-1 late in the third period after trading escape points with No. 16 Tate Orndorff, Smith was unable to close out the bout. Orndorff scored a late third-period takedown to earn a 3-1 decision. Maryland’s hole grew to 29-0.

“Credit to Orndorff man, he’s a big son of a buck,” Clemsen said. “[Jaron] maybe didn’t quite have the same juice left at the end.”

Following Brown’s big pin and seventh win in a row at 125-pounds, Conner Quinn was pinned at 133-pounds and Kal Miller dropped his 141-pound to No. 18 Dylan D’Emilio by a 6-3 decision. 

“Kind of a lone bright spot for us tonight,” Clemsen said. “He’s really good on top … He’s got some horsepower.”

The loss is Maryland’s second consecutive in Big Ten play to open conference play.