Entering Maryland wrestling’s dual meet against Drexel on Friday, redshirt junior Ethen Miller had the chance to finish the regular season perfect.
The 157-pounder was 19-0 with one match to go, and one man standing in his way in redshirt junior Aboubakare Diaby.
The bout was never in doubt. Miller won in dominant fashion with a technical fall, one of numerous victories for the Terps on Friday. They took six of ten bouts in a 23-13 victory over the Dragons.
Most of Maryland’s (9-10) wins came in impressive fashion — four Terps scored bonus points.
Braxton Brown overpowers opponent for major decision victory
Maryland’s 133-pounder has been a high scorer for the Terps in dual competition. Braxton Brown, who led it in total dual points heading into Friday’s matchup, continued his strong season.
Against redshirt senior Kyle Waterman, Brown went to work immediately. The redshirt junior overpowered Waterman at first contact, driving through him and forcing him to the mat. He imposed his will from the top position after that, twisting Waterman’s shoulders to the mat on multiple occasions to notch eight nearfall points before the period ended for an 11-0 lead.
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Brown’s aggression in the first gave him a comfortable lead, but hunting for the tech fall took a lot out of him. Waterman became the aggressor in the second period, keeping Brown on his back foot and looking to score, but Brown stuffed all attempts from Warderman to keep the score heading into the third.
He started the final period on the bottom and quickly escaped, then went after a match-ending takedown. Waterman seemed the fresher wrestler late, holding off Brown’s attempts and finding a late takedown to end any hopes of a tech fall and keeping the match to a major decision.
Branson John gives Maryland a cushion with big victory
The Dragons (11-10) only trailed by two entering with four matches left at the 174-pound bout. Maryland needed true freshman Branson John to extend its advantage.
John struck first against redshirt junior Jack Janda. He got deep on a single leg shot and transitioned to Janda’s back, finding the takedown to ride out a majority of the period.
John took a 3-1 lead to the second period, where he started from the top position. Janda didn’t have any answers on the bottom — John rode out the entire second, securing the riding time point.
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In the third, John pulled away. Janda didn’t threaten him, and the freshman successfully got to his offense to take Janda down twice and secure a comfortable 10-3 decision win.
Jaxon Smith gets dominant major decision over ranked opponent
Going up against a ranked opponent in graduate student Giuseppe Hoose, Jaxon Smith almost finished the bout early.
The redshirt junior tripped Hoose down to the mat from the clinch for a quick takedown, and when Hoose tried to escape, Smith flipped him to his back to secure four nearfall points. Hoose escaped, but Smith continued to pressure, picking up two more takedowns in the period for a 13-3 lead.
Smith started the second on the bottom and popped right back to his feet. He continued to move forward, throwing feints and shots, but Hoose had made some adjustments. He stayed on his feet for the rest of the period to keep Smith from finding another takedown.
Hoose was the aggressor in the third. He knew takedowns were necessary in preventing a major decision, and he walked Smith down. But Smith’s defense was impregnable. He prevented the graduate student from finding a takedown of his own, taking a 14-4 major decision.
