BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – After a back-and-forth contest with Southern Maine that resulted in a 25-20 loss, the Castleton University wrestling team picked up its first victory as an NCAA varsity program, defeating Bridgewater State 31-6 Saturday afternoon at John J. Kelly Gymnasium.

Castleton picked up its first points in the opening match against Southern Maine, as Reece Millington defeated Jared Garcia at 157 pounds by major decision, 13-5. After Southern Maine won the next match, the Spartans took three straight matches to open a 16-5 advantage, starting with Zach Allen winning the 174-pound match by decision (11-7), followed by Mitchell LaFlam earning a pin at 184 pounds and Joseph Galusha picking up a 12-9 decision victory at 197 pounds.

Southern Maine won the next two matches to close the gap to one at 16-15, but Nick Camacho earned four points for Castleton at 133 pounds with a 9-1 major decision victory. The Huskies would win the final two matches on a major decision and a fall to pull out the victory.

The Spartans immediately went to work against Bridgewater State, beginning with Millington winning his second match of the day, this time by a 5-1 decision. After the Bears won the next match to tie the team contest at 3-3, Castleton won three straight matches, thanks to the second victory in as many individual matches for Allen, LaFlam, and Galusha.

Bridgewater State closed the score to 12-6, but Castleton won the final four matches of the day, starting with major decision victories for Tyreek Staton at 125 pounds and Camacho. Zak Hale picked up a technical fall victory for five points at 141 pounds, and Tyler Raetz closed out the victory with a fall in the 149-pound match.

Castleton University (1-1) heads to Scranton, Pa., for the Electric City Duals, hosted by the University of Scranton next Saturday, Nov. 12, starting at 10 a.m.