Wrestling gets two wins against ranked foes in tournament

For a squad ranked outside of the nation's top 25 like the Terrapin wrestling team, there are few better ways to prove itself than against a high level of competition.

Ranked No. 32 in Intermat's latest rankings, the Terps had an opportunity to do just that at Saturday's Northeast Duals meet in Troy, N.Y., where they faced three top-50 opponents: No. 13 Missouri, No. 34 Penn and No. 41 Northern Iowa.

The Terps managed to capitalize on the chance to prove themselves against the competition, defeating the Quakers, 25-10, and the Panthers, 19-16, before falling to the Tigers, 18-12. But even with the one loss, coach Kerry McCoy called the weekend a success for the Terps.

"We wrestled hard," McCoy said. "We're getting better, improving in the areas we needed to improve on, so it was a good weekend. Anytime you can come up on the positive side is good."

157-pound Kyle John, 165-pound Josh Asper and 174-pound Mike Letts again stole the show for the Terps, with each winning all three of their matches. With the three wins, Asper maintained his perfect record for the season.

"Those are the guys that set the tone," McCoy said. "High-intensity wrestling, get the job done. ... They did what they do."

184-pound Corey Peltier and heavyweight Spencer Myers also returned from injury this weekend, leaving with mixed results. Peltier won two of his three matches in decisions against Penn and Missouri, while Myers won his first match of the day but fell in his next two contests.

"They were not as sharp as they will be in a couple of weeks," McCoy said. "But shaking off the rust and being able to come back with good performances was good for those two guys."

The Terps next wrestle when they travel to Penn State on Dec. 5 for the Penn State Open. If the Terps continue to prove themselves against the country's upper crust, McCoy said the team will remain on track in pursuit of its goal of a conference championship.

"We need to take some time to let our guys reflect on where we've been, what we need to do to move forward and start building that momentum," McCoy said. "It's important for the guys to keep grinding and stay focused. ... We need to be ready to march onto that ACC Championship and more."

vitale@umdbk.com