Heavyweight battle pits wrestling's Myers vs. class’s biggest

For most members of the Terrapins wrestling team, tonight's match means bragging rights.

But for heavyweight Spencer Myers, it means revenge.

The No. 20 Terps face No. 7 American tonight at Comcast Pavilion in The Battle of the Beltway, where Myers will grapple with an Eagle he has twice lost to in his two years in College Park.

But he's not just wrestling anyone. He'll be taking on the top-ranked heavyweight in the nation: Ryan Flores.

"It's a lot of pressure and not really anything at the same time," the No. 10-ranked Myers said Wednesday. "Of course, I'm going to be nervous going in, but I just have to go in like it's any other match, and I just can't take anything too lightly."

Myers lost to Flores last February in the Terps' match at American and again earlier this season at a National Wrestling Coaches Association match. But Myers said he isn't doing anything differently to prepare for this match than he would for any other.

"I've just been trying to figure out what he does and critique what I'm doing to get better moves," Myers said. "I think everyone's doing the same thing that I am, just critiquing now that we're down to a couple days left."

Coach Kerry McCoy said his sophomore is ready.

"He's gotten better, and what we look forward to is him continuing to get better and make improvements," McCoy said. "When you wrestle the No. 1 guy in the country and the returning national runner-up, he's heavily favored. So we have to go out there with nothing to lose and make some things happen."

The Eagles (0-3) have four nationally ranked wrestlers, including Flores, while the Terps (6-0) have five: Kyle John, Christian Boley, Jimmy Sheptock, Josh Asper and Myers.

For some, preparing for this local rivalry has meant taking a few extra steps to ensure that the Terps maintain their undefeated record. Boley said he has gone for several midnight runs and has watched tapes over and over again to make sure he's ready.

"I'm just making sure that I'm doing all of the things that I need to do to be ready to compete," Boley said. "I believe in my coach's system. I honestly think I have the best coach in the country. I'm just doing the right things, and I believe in myself and in my condition, and I'm just going to go out there and wrestle."

After facing their local rivals on Friday, the Terps will drive up to Penn State, McCoy's alma mater, for the Nittany Lion Open on Sunday.

"We want to win every time we go out there," McCoy said of his team's matches this weekend. "One of the team goals we have is to get better and to win all of our matches, so the opportunity to go out there and win is a chance to take another step toward our goal of going undefeated for the year."

egan@umdbk.com