No. 18 Braxton Brown was in a grueling battle on the mat against No. 12 Dean Peterson. Brown hugged Peterson and forced him to his back. The referee counted off four as the crowd roared.

Brown used the four near-fall points and takedown to earn a major decision win, and give the Terps the early 4-0 advantage in their dual against the No. 23 Scarlet Knights. 

“I think out of everybody in our program right now –  he knows exactly who he is and what he needs to do, and he goes and does it,” said head coach Alex Clemsen. 

Maryland couldn’t capitalize on the early win, losing its fifth straight dual, 28-7. 

The Terps came into this home matchup losers of four straight and still without a Big Ten victory. Maryland ended up pretty banged up during that stretch.

The Terps found themselves without No. 13 Jaxon Smith and No. 32 Michael North for all four of those duals. No. 18 Ethen Miller missed two duals, and No. 18 Braxton Brown was out for the dual against Michigan. All returned to the mat except for Smith, though Clemsen says Smith is “real close”.

Another Terp making their return was Kevin Makosy. Makosy suffered an elbow injury on Nov. 5. that’s kept him out of the lineup. 

Not only was Maryland close to full strength for the first time in a while, but a familiar face returned to the mat. Redshirt senior King Sandoval returned to start at the 133-pound weight class.

Sandoval finished last season with a 15-16 record and led the team in pins with 13. Maryland is hoping to get a portion of that production in the last stretch of the season. 

“It just shows that Maryland wrestling is a family and that we can bring him back with all the support and everything,” said Brown. 

Sandoval struggled in his debut bout. Sandoval fell behind early in the first period and could never gain momentum in the bout. He lost to No. 16 Joe Heilmann by major decision, 12-0. 

“Today might not ended as well as he hoped, but he’ll be back in that room. Just keep working. Keep grinding,” said Brown. 

The 141 bout was tight heading into the third period. Kal Miller trailed No. 18 Joseph Olivieri, 2-1 as time dwindled. Miller shot down at the legs of Olivieri, trying to earn the pivotal takedown. Miller battled to find the position, but he couldn’t get the points losing 2-1. 

Ethen Miller tied the team score at seven, winning the 149 bout 4-2. Miller came out strong, scoring a takedown in the first period. Miller added an escape and riding time to earn his eleventh dual victory. 

North’s return to the mat didn’t go smoothly. North fell behind in the first period and could only muster up two escape points throughout the bout. North lost to Andrew Clark 7-2.

John Martin Best lost the next bout to Robert Kanniard. Kanniard held complete control, never allowing Best to score a point. The win added Rutgers six team-points.

Rutgers extended that lead to nine, earning a decision victory in the 174-pound bout. A late takedown in the third period by Jackson Turley sealed the win. Turley defeated Dom Solis 5-1. 

Makosy couldn’t stop the Rutgers winning streak. Makosy lost his bout against No. 15 Brian Soldano 6-3. Maryland forfeited the 197-pound bout for the fifth straight dual. 

In the last bout of the afternoon, No. 27 Jaron Smith lost by decision to No. 26 Boone McDermott. The two traded takedowns in the third period, and with under 20 seconds left in the bout, they remained deadlocked at 4. McDermott was able to earn an escape point to win the bout. 

“I saw ten or nine contested bouts today. So just two teams that are well coached, and two teams that are hungry for wins, and unfortunately, they just won a few more tight ones then we did,” said Clemsen

The loss means that Maryland must continue the search for a Big Ten win, something the program hasn’t accomplished since 2016. 

The Terps next shot at that elusive win will come on Friday as they take on Purdue at the Pavilion.