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Season Preview of Maryland

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Geoff Alexander will lead the Terps in to the Big Ten. 

Geoff Alexander will lead the Terps in to the Big Ten. 

The Maryland Terrapins are entering the 2014-15 season coming off finishing 20th at the NCAA's last season. They sent five wrestlers to the NCAA's last year led by a 2nd place finish from Jimmy Sheptock. Along with Sheptock, Christian Boley graduated leaving Maryland in a little bit of a rebuilding situation. However, Head Coach Kerry McCoy will have his young team ready for a season where navigating the tough waters of the Big Ten.

125- Josh Polacek

- Polacek is a Redshirt Junior out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It appeared Tyler Goodwin, an NCAA Qualifier at 133 as a true freshman last year, was going to drop to 125 to be the starter. Now we are hearing he will redshirt and Polacek has earned the nod. He was a 2-time state placer and has had some success at open tournaments. 

133- #12 Geoff Alexander

- This redshirt junior is a Pittsburgh native placing 4 times at state. He also was a Super 32 winner in 2010. He is coming off a redshirt season where he was 25-2 winning 4 open tournaments. He is a 2-time NCAA qualifier finishing just 2 wins shy of the podium in 2013. He is a legitimate All-America threat especially in a weight class that seems rather open in the Big Ten and in the NCAA's. 

141- Shyheim Brown

- Brown had a great freshman season last year receiving a wild card bid to the NCAA's. He is out of the powerhouse Central Dauphin High School of Pennsylvania (3-time all-state) and was ranked as high as 8th last season at one point. As most highly caliber freshman do, they have big wins and some head scratching losses. Don't be surprised if Brown starts knocking off guys as 141 even in a really tough weight class. 

149- Ben Dorsay

- A 5th year senior, Dorsay will be looking to go out with a big year. He was a 3-time Virginia State Champ. Last year he struggled to a 10-11 record which is odd since as a true sophomore 16-11 with an 11-5 dual record. Don't be surprised if he appears to come out of nowhere this year. 

157- Lou Mascola

- A Junior coming off a redshirt season where he went 14-6, he will be starting for the 2nd time for the Terps at 149. As a true sophomore he was just 12-13. He is a New Jersey native who holds the most wins for Seton Hall Prep history at 145. 

165- Tyler Manion

- Manion is a redshirt sophomore who split time as a starter last year at 165. He went 15-8 with a dual record of 3-3. He is a Pittsburgh native who was a 2-time state placer. 

174- Josh Snook

- Snook is from Bear, Deleware (really cool name). He has struggled over the last two seasons splitting time as a starter at 165. He appears to be the starter at 174 so maybe being a full time guy he will find his way. 

184- Tony Gardner

- A Maryland state champion attended NC-Greensboro as a freshman before transferring to Maryland. Last year he saw some time at 174 (remember they have had Sheptock the last couple years). Now he gets his shot as a redshirt Senior to step out of the shadows. 

197- Rob Fitzgerald

- Was the first state placer from Dowington East High School in Pennsylvania. He has had some success in open tournaments and now gets to step in for the graduated Christian Boley. 

285- Spencer Myers / Ryan Kail

- Spencer Myers has had some nice write-ups about him training for Football and Wrestling at the same time. As a 5th year senior, he is playing football for the first season in college. He is out till the 2nd semester. It will be interesting to see him compete as he was one of the top heavyweights not in the Big Ten last year. Now he is and there is no shortage of strong 285's in the conference. Ryan Kail is a redshirt freshman who was 7-12 in open competition last year. He will fill in till Myers is ready to take off the pads and put on the singlet. 

Overall this is a tough task for a rebuilding Maryland squad that had much stronger teams the last couple seasons. They have home duals against Penn State, Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio State. While that is an exciting slate for any program, those scores may not be good. Maryland is a growing program under Kerry McCoy though. I think we will see teams get stronger and compete with the bump in recruiting they will receive from the Big Ten. Being in this conference could mean more recruits from strong east coast states especially Pennsylvania. I believe this is a program on the rise with a lot of young talent already in the room.