WORCESTER, Mass. – The Castleton University wrestling team posted an impressive showing at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute's November Duals, going 3-0 against some of the region's stiffest competition.
Castleton opened the day with a win over Stevens Institute of Technology—the No. 8 team in the country—before a 20-16 win over Roger Williams, the No. 3 team in the region. Castleton closed the day with a convincing win over host WPI to complete the sweep. The three victories give the Spartans a five-match winning streak in dual match competition, as Castleton is now 5-2 on the year after dropping their first two matches to nationally-ranked opponents.
The Spartans won 26-23 over eighth-ranked Stevens Tech after reeling off wins in five of the final six bouts, and were victorious 20-16 over Roger Williams behind wins from six of the 10 weight classes. They closed the day with a 34-7 win against WPI, dropping just two bouts in the match.
Jason Hoffman and Mitchell LaFlam each went 3-0 on the day, while Joseph Valentino, Travis Brown, Max Tempel, Cooper Fleming, Michael Angers and Chance LaPier each posted 2-1 marks.
The Spartans faced off with one of the nation's top teams in Stevens Tech to open the day of competition. Castleton got off to a quick start with a pin by Valentino at 125, but the lead quickly evaporated as Nick Camacho, Brown and Tempel were all pinned to put Castleton in an 18-6 hole. The Spartans show resilience, rattling off wins at five consecutive weight classes to regain the lead once more. Fleming started the swing with a 20-4 win via technical fall, cutting the deficit to 18-11. Back-to-back decision victories by Angers and LaPier drew Castleton within one, 18-17, before Hoffman pinned his opponent in 1:09 to put the Spartans on top 23-18. LaFlam then earned a win via decision at 197 to seal the win for Castleton, making it 26-18 with just one weight class remaining. Galusha fell via tech fall, but the Spartans were victorious 26-23.
In the second match of the day against Roger Williams, the Spartans fell behind early. Castleton dropped both the 125 and 133-pound bouts via decision, but got into the win column at 141 when Brown picked up a win via major decision, 11-3. Tempel gave Castleton its first lead in the match, 7-6, with a 4-1 win via decision, but it was short-lived as Castleton lost at 157 to fall behind 10-7. Angers leveled the score at 10-10 with a 3-2 win via decision at 165, but a Roger Williams pin at 174 gave the Hawks a 16-10 lead. The Spartans turned it around from there, winning each of the final three matches to claim the win. Hoffman got the ball rolling at 1894 with a 15-0 win via technical fall, before LaFlam earned a 5-1 victory via decision. Joseph Galusha capped the match with an 11-2 victory via major decision.
The final match of the day was all Castleton, as the Spartans raced out to a 24-0 lead by winning each of the first five bouts. Valentino picked up a win via pin at the 6:44 mark, followed by a 4-3 victory by Owen Kretschmer to make it 9-0. Brown pinned his opponent in 3:38 to move Castleton ahead 15-0, and a 10-8 win by Tempel made it 18-0 in favor of the Spartans. After a 2:53 pin by Fleming made it 24-0, Castleton dropped its first bout of the match at 165 with a 4-1 decision. LaPier, Hoffman and LaFlam each picked up wins, however, giving the Spartans a 34-3 cushion heading to the heavyweight bout where Galusha fell via major decision to finish the match 34-7.
Castleton returns to the mat December 7 at the Ted Reece Invitational hosted by the University of Southern Maine. Action begins at 10 a.m.
