Michigan
Maryland
Wolverines to Host Maryland for Big Ten Dual Opener
1/7/2025 4:28:00 PM | Wrestling
Promotions
• Country Night -- Enjoy some country music with Michigan Wrestling.
• Michigan Cowboy Hat Giveaway -- The first 250 fans that sign up for This Week In Michigan Wrestling will receive a Michigan Wrestling cowboy hat.
• Pizza & Pins -- Free pizza for Michigan students while supplies last.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) will return home to kick off the Big Ten Conference portion of its 2024-25 slate when it hosts Maryland (5-5, 0-0 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. on Friday (Jan. 10) at Crisler Center.
Notes
• Michigan has posted a 23-8 Big Ten dual record over the last four seasons, finishing top five in the dual standings all four seasons, including a runner-up finish in 2022 -- the same year U-M captured the conference tournament title. The Wolverines also claimed second place at last year's Big Ten Tournament after posting a 5-3 league record.
• U-M is 3-0 in dual meetings with wins over Columbia (28-9, Nov. 17), Duke (35-11, Nov. 22) and Virginia (29-12, Nov. 24), claiming seven matches in each dual and earning 18 total bonus wins, including seven against the Blue Devils.
• The Wolverines have eight wrestlers ranked nationally at their respective weight classes, including three in the top 15 according to InterMat: No. 12 Sergio Lemley (141), No. 28 Dylan Gilcher (149), No. 16 Chase Saldate (157), No. 16 Brock Mantanona (165), No. 25 Joseph Walker (174), No. 19 Jaden Bullock (184), No. 3 Jacob Cardenas (197) and No. 10 Josh Heindselman (Hwt).
• Fifth-year senior Dylan Ragusin will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season after suffering a knee injury at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 6-7). Ragusin, who has already had surgery to repair the injured knee, is a 2024 All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier. He was ranked No. 4 at 133 pounds to start the season after coming out of redshirt midseason to go 28-4 last year and claim a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He is 82-30 in his career and will have one more year of eligibility after medical hardship.
• Graduate student Josh Heindselman, who joined the Wolverines as a graduate transfer this semester, is 12-0 on the season, having won each of his three tournament appearances in December, and boasts 10 bonus wins -- three pins and seven tech falls. Most recently, he claimed the heavyweight title at the Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) with a 4-0 mark and a gritty 5-4 win over Indiana's No. 23 Jacob Bullock in the championship final. Heindselman was a four-time NCAA qualifier at Oklahoma, where he posted an 82-46 record over four seasons.
• Graduate student Jacob Cardenas is also undefeated this season with an 8-0 record and eight bonus wins, including six technical falls. He captured the 197-pound title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, where he earned three ranked wins -- against Iowa State's No. 14 Christian Carroll (16-1), Virginia Tech's No. 8 Andy Smith (12-0) and Northwestern's No. 13 Evan Bates (Fall 4:34). He was the Wolverines' sixth CKLV champion in seven years.
• Sophomore/freshman Beau Mantanona made his season debut at the Bobby Kauffman Open last Saturday (Jan. 4), posting a 4-1 record to take third place at 165 pounds. He suffered what was thought to be a season-ending knee injury a week before the season started in November but on closer inspection, it did not require surgery and he has rehabbed it back to health. His brother, freshman Brock Mantanona, held down the 165-pound spot last semester, posting an 11-3 record with two ranked wins and a seventh-place finish at the CKLV. Brock has one date remaining to maintain his redshirt this season.
• Ten wrestlers have made their debuts in the Michigan starting lineup over the first semester, including five who have earned their first varsity win in a U-M singlet: grad transfers Cardenas and Saldate, senior/junior Dzhabrail Khurshidov, junior/sophomore Codei Khawaja and freshmen Brock Mantanona and Cameron Catrabone Senior/junior Christian Tanefeu also earned his first varsity win -- though not in his debut -- in the dual opener.
• Maryland owns a 5-2 record on the season and like Michigan, will make its Big Ten debut on Friday night. Most recently, the Terrapins went 1-2 at the Armbar at the Armory event last Sunday (Jan. 5), falling to Binghamton (28-10) and Columbia (19-18) before closing out the day with a 27-12 win over Lock Haven. Five Terps are ranked nationally at their respective weight classes, most notably No. 6 Ethen Miller (149 pounds), No. 13 Jaxon Smith (184) and No. 13 Seth Nevills (Hwt)
• The Wolverines lead 10-1-1 in the all-time series against Maryland with wins in the last eight meetings, including a decisive 38-3 home win last season. Michigan took nine bouts in that dual, including five bonus wins.
Players Mentioned
