Maryland wrestling had a chance to make history against Purdue on Friday night. The Terps were searching for their fourth Big Ten win and a .500 conference record — both would have been firsts.
Both will have to wait. Maryland lost to the Boilermakers, 23-14, ending their conference schedule with four straight losses. Ethen Miller was a healthy scratch, and his absence hurt the Terps. Purdue’s No. 7 Joey Blaze beat his opponent by technical fall.
Close defeats doom Maryland — again
A theme for Maryland (8-10, 3-5 Big Ten) in its dual losses has been close defeats in individual bouts. Friday was no different. Maryland lost by nine points, but defeats at 141 and 174 pounds in matches decided by single sequences could’ve changed the result if Terps had pulled the matches out.
Dario Lemus held a lead over Greyson Clark, picking up a takedown early in the match and holding a 4-1 lead in the second. But, Clark had a massive sequence late in the period, taking Lemus down and picking up four nearfall points. The redshirt freshman couldn’t make up the deficit in the third.
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Branson John is no stranger to comeback wins. The freshman has beaten multiple ranked conference opponents this season in the final period, breaking them and finding clutch takedowns.
Trailing No. 25 Brody Baumann 7-3 in the third, he found a takedown late to make it a one-point match, but ran out of time before he could attempt to score again, dropping the decision.
Kal Miller snaps conference losing streak
Kal Miller’s been put through the wringer in recent conference action. His last three opponents were all ranked in the top-20, and Miller struggled in all three bouts — he lost by decision, fall and technical fall. The 149-pounder had an easier test on Friday night in unranked redshirt sophomore Isaac Ruble.
Miller asserted himself after a scoreless first period. Starting from the top, he refused to let Ruble go. Ruble struggled, rolling around and trying to either pick up an escape or a reversal, but Miller’s top pressure was just too much. He ended up riding out the whole period, coming close to nearfall points late but eventually ending it scoreless.
Ruble tried to return the favor, working aggressively from the top position. But he got too high on Miller’s back, and the junior shook him off and picked up a reversal for a 2-0 lead. That allowed Miller to work from the top again — he rode out the rest of the match for a 3-0 decision win.
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Jaxon Smith keeps Maryland in the match with tech fall victory.
Maryland needed a lot from Jaxon Smith to have any chance against Purdue (9-6, 3-4 Big Ten). The Terps trailed 19-6 heading into the 184-pound match, and bonus points would’ve been needed in the final three bouts to cut into the Boilermakers’ lead.
Against Orlando Cruz, Smith did just that. He attacked Cruz from the opening whistle and took him down with a variety of moves. Cruz had no answer for any of Smith’s offense — the redshirt junior brought him down five times in the opening period for a 15-4 lead.
Cruz started the second from the bottom and escaped, but he still didn’t have Smith’s respect. He walked Cruz down, finding two takedowns to pick up the technical fall victory. The win brought Maryland’s team total to 11, putting the dual within reach with two matches left.
