Wrestling steps up competition in Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic

After an afternoon of battling one team after another during last Saturday's Terrapin Duals, the Terrapin wrestling team will head north to face seven others simultaneously.

The Terps (3-1) travel to Brockport, N.Y., tomorrow to compete in the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic tournament, where their results will depend on the one or two wrestlers per weight class who they enter in the competition. And based on the Terps' performance at the Terrapin Duals, coach Kerry McCoy expects similar results this weekend.

"We should be in the top half of the team scoring," McCoy said. "I definitely think we should be in the hunt for a top-three finish."

The Terps will send more than 16 wrestlers to compete this weekend, including 174-pound Mike Letts. 165-pound Josh Asper and 141-pound Kyle John, who are a combined 11-0 in individual matches this year. They'll be facing wrestlers from some of the nation's elite wrestling programs, including No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 23 Rutgers.

Both the Sooners and unranked American finished better than the Terps' 20th-place finish in last season's NCAA Championships, finishing fifth and 14th, respectively. With the Scarlet Knights, Army and Buffalo all finishing within the top 55 in the nation last year, the Terps will encounter a higher level of competition than their opening-weekend opponents.

"Individually, there's going to be 20-30 nationally ranked guys competing," McCoy said. "It's a great event and I'm looking forward to it."

The Terps will have to deal with the continued absence of 184-pound Corey Peltier and heavyweight Spencer Myers, who both sustained injuries last weekend. But, even without the services of those wrestlers, McCoy said he still expects to see the Terps find success this weekend.

"You have to put what happened in the past behind you and move forward," McCoy said. "The guys have to wrestle hard, wrestle smart and do the things that we train for."

vitale@umdbk.com