By: Juan Herrera
The Maryland Wrestling team travelled to Fairfax, Virginia on Friday to take on North Dakota State and George Mason in a double header.
The Terps started the night off against North Dakota State at the 125-pound weight class. The Bison’s No. 5 ranked Josh Rodriguez made quick work of Maryland’s Michael Beck, earning the technical fall 24-9.
Then at the 133-pound weight class, Maryland’s Jhared Simmons put on a solid performance. The redshirt junior took an early 8-2 lead over North Dakota State’s Albert Landeros. Simmons went on to win the match 12-8. It was his first dual meet win of the season.
The Terps were able to keep the strong momentum going in the next two bouts. Redshirt senior Billy Rappo beat Taylor Nein 10-3 at 141 pounds and No. 12 Alfred Bannister narrowly defeated Kyle Gliva 3-2 at 149 pounds. It was Gliva’s first loss of the season.
Maryland had a 9-5 team score lead heading into the 157-pound bout, but they did not get much time to enjoy it. North Dakota State’s No. 9 Clay Ream beat Justin Alexander 5-1 and No. 19 Andrew Fogarty also defeated Maryland’s Josh Ugalde 12-3 at 165-pounds.
The Terps struggled to regain their footing near the end of the bout, as redshirt freshmen Sam Rowell and Idris White, as well as sophomore Youssif Hemida, all lost their matches at the 174, 184 and 285-pound weight classes.
North Dakota State went on to win the match 22-12. Although the Terps lost the bout, there were several positive things to take from the match. This includes Redshirt freshman David-Brian Whisler, who picked up an impressive win over North Dakota’s Cordell Eaton at 197-pounds.
After North Dakota beat George Mason 31-7, the Terps squared off against the Patriots in the final bout of the night.
The match kicked off at the 125-pound weight class where Maryland freshman Alex Vargas pinned George Mason’s Quinton Tucker in the second period of their match.
In the second bout of the match, Maryland’s Jhared Simmons edged Logan Harvich 7-4. It was an impressive showing for the redshirt junior, who ended the night with two big wins.
Then, at the 141-pound weight class, Redshirt senior Billy Rappo pinned his opponent in the third period of their match to earn his second win of the night. Maryland had a 15-0 at that point.
The Terps continued to ride their momentum into the next few bouts. Bannister picked up an impressive overtime win over undefeated George Mason wrestler Sahid Kargbo.
Redshirt freshman Danny Boychuck pinned his opponent in the third period of their match at 157-pounds. Other younger wrestlers like Hemida, Whisler, White and Gerrish also pulled out wins over George Mason.
The Terps went on to win the match against George Mason 38-3, thanks to strong performances from practically the entire team. They nearly pulled off a shutout but George Mason’s 174-pounder Patrick Davis narrowly defeated Sam Rowell in overtime to give the Patriots their only points of the night.
With this win over George Mason, the Terps are now (2-4) in dual meet competition. The team will be back in action on Sunday when they take on #12 Rutgers in College Park at noon.
