“It feels good to finally get that first one,†said head coach Kerry McCoy. “It's been a long time coming we were really close last year. We were close with a bunch of opportunities in other matches, but finally we were able to push through and get it done. There's no real secret to it, guys went out there and wrestled hard. We had some roller coaster matches but guys were able to bounce back and finish strong. It's exciting to get this one. We're going to enjoy it for a little bit, but we're going to continue to get back to work we have a lot more coming.â€
After the visitors jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a technical fall at 125, redshirt senior Geoffrey Alexander (133) got the Terps back on track with his second head-to-head conference win of the year. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native got an early takedown for a 2-0 lead, then muscled his way to a hard fought escape for a 3-0 edge in the second period. MSU's Garth Yenter countered with a takedown, but an escape and late takedown from Alexander sealed a 7-2 decision.
The Spartans would push the lead back to five with a close decision at 141, but freshman Wade Hodges (149) responded for the hosts with his first major decision win of the season. He jumped out to 6-0 lead after the first on a takedown and four-point near fall, then remained in control en route to a 9-0 major over Kaelan Richards.
Consecutive victories from redshirt senior Lou Mascola (157) and freshman Brendan Burnham (165) put the Terps up by six, starting with a solid 8-4 decision for Mascola over Michigan State's Joe Johnson. The win marked the fourth Big Ten dual victory of the year for Mascola, who now sits at 12-3 on the season with a team-leading eight dual meet twins.
Burnham turned in perhaps his most complete performance of the season vs. Dean Vettese, sealing a 13-3 major decision. The 10-point margin of victory was his largest of the year, as he continually found ways to take the Spartan to the mat giving his team a 14-8 advantage. MSU managed another win at 174 to cut it to 14-11, but it was all Maryland from there winning the final three.
The Spartans didn't make it easy, as freshman Jaron Smith (184) found himself behind 0-4 on an early takedown and two-point near fall from Shwan Shadaia. Smith countered swapping two reversals for a takedown, but trailed 4-6 heading into the second period. There Smith took command, getting a takedown after an escape to get ahead 7-6. Both wrestlers were scrambling for points in the third, but Smith held up defensively to clinch his second straight Big Ten victory by decision. Redshirt-freshman Garrett Wesneski (197) was also on the ropes against Jacob Cooper, finding himself behind 2-1 with the clock winding down in the third period. A clutch reversal from the bottom ended up making the difference, as the Canton, Pa. native captured his first career Big Ten win.
With the team decision in hand, freshman Youssif Hemida (285) provided perhaps the most entertaining match of the afternoon in a back-and-forth heavyweight tussle with Dimitrus Renfroe. The two wrestlers found themselves tied at four heading into the third, before a MSU penalty and takedown made it 6-5 in the final minute. There Hemida dug deep, getting a reversal and position on Renfroe to take the lead. From there the Mamaroneck, N.Y. native executed the pin with just two seconds remaining to send the XFINITY Center crowd into a frenzy and clinch the 26-10 team victory.
The win marked the first victory for the Terps over Michigan State, who came into the day leading the all-time series 2-0. Maryland will be back in action for another Big Ten doubleheader next weekend January 15 & 17 when the team travels to wrestle Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana and Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind.
Results:
125: Mitch Rogaliner (MSU) tech fall over Jhared Simmons (MD), 15-0 (0-5)
133: No. 15 Geoffrey Alexander (MD) decision over Garth Yenter (MSU), 7-2 (3-5)
141: Javier Gasca (MSU) decision over Alfred Bannister (MD), 7-4 (3-8)
149: Wade Hodges (MD) major decision over Kaelan Richards (MSU), 9-0 (7-8)
157: No. 18 Lou Mascola (MD) decision over Joe Johnson (MSU), 8-4 (10-8)
165: Brendan Burnham (MD) major decision over Dean Vettese (MSU), 13-3 (14-8)
174: Shane Shadaia (MSU) decision over Derrick Evanovich (MD), 3-1 (SV-1) (14-11)
184: Jaron Smith (MD) decision over Shwan Shadaia (MSU), 7-6 (17-11)
197: Garrett Wesneski (MD) decision over Jacob Cooper (MSU), 3-2 (20-10) (Unsportsmanlike penalty assessed)
285: Youssif Hemida (MD) fall over Dimitrus Renfroe (MSU), 6:58 (26-10)
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