Maryland Wrestling will travel to Washington, D.C. on December 5 to face American University in a nonconference dual meet at Bender Arena. The match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Maryland Terrapins currently hold a 3-0 record this season, while American stands at 2-3. This will be Maryland’s second-to-last nonconference dual before starting Big Ten competition.
Maryland has remained undefeated through its first three duals. At the Throwdown on the Yorktown event in Charleston, South Carolina, Maryland secured wins against Gardner-Webb and The Citadel. In the match against Gardner-Webb, the team won 27-13 with contributions including major decisions from Dominic Solis and Joey Schneck, technical falls from Dario Lemus and Branson John, and a pin by Jaxon Smith at 184 pounds. Michael Pizzuto added a sudden-victory decision.
The Terps followed up with a 24-9 win over The Citadel, with early victories from Braxton Brown and Lemus. Jackson Young won at 149 pounds, and upperweights Solis, Smith, and John recorded major decisions. Oscar Williams finished the dual with a win at heavyweight.
In their most recent contest against Morgan State in Baltimore, Maryland improved to 3-0 with a 39-7 victory. Abram Cline opened with a decision win; Brown and Mekhi Neal earned wins by forfeit; Williams had a technical fall at heavyweight; AJ Rodrigues posted a major decision; Lemus pinned his opponent at 141 pounds; John achieved another technical fall; and Solis clinched the final bout with a late takedown.
Maryland is coming off one of its strongest seasons since joining the Big Ten Conference. The program set records for points scored and individual placers at the Big Ten Championships last year, achieved its highest team finish in that event, and recorded more regular-season dual wins than ever before. A notable highlight was defeating No. 10 Michigan—the team’s first win over a top-10 opponent since November 2009.
At last year’s NCAA Championships, Maryland matched its best team point total and finish since 2014. Jaxon Smith earned All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at 184 pounds—the program’s first All-American since 2019. Six wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships last season—its most qualifiers since 2012—including returners Braxton Brown, Branson John, and Jaxon Smith.
Head Coach Alex Clemsen leads the program into his seventh season alongside associate head coach Nick Brascetta. Assistant coach Ethan Laird returns for his third season; Cole Matthews has been promoted to assistant coach in his second year with the team.
Dario Lemus has started this season strong at 141 pounds with an undefeated dual record (3-0) and an overall mark of 8-2—tied for second-most wins on the team. He entered national rankings after upsetting Jordan Titus of West Virginia at the Southeast Open where he placed third in his bracket.
Branson John is competing at 197 pounds for the first time after qualifying for NCAAs as a freshman last year at 174 pounds. He holds an undefeated record (10-0), leads Maryland in major decisions (five) and technical falls (two), is unbeaten in duals (3-0), and recently climbed into national rankings following victories over ranked opponents.