CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University wrestling team dominated from the start on Wednesday night, defeating in-state rival Norwich in the Battle for the Green Mountain Championship, 39-3.
 
The Spartans won each of the first nine matchups on the evening, cruising to victory by way of five decisions, three pins and a Norwich forfeit. Castleton's lone loss came in the night's finale by decision. It marked the third straight year that Castleton has won the Green Mountain Championship, with the Spartans holding a 3-1 mark over Norwich all-time in the event.
 
Logan Dubuque opened the evening with a thrilling 7-6 upset win over Norwich's Cameron Wooldridge, the No. 7 157-pounder in the NEWA. Michael Angers and Cooper Fleming each pulled off 3-2 wins via decision to give the Spartans a 9-0 lead, with Fleming's victory coming in an upset as well, as the No. 6 ranked-174 pounder in the NEWA bested the No. 4 in Dan Curran. Alec Richards added a fourth-straight victory by decision, winning comfortably by a score of 7-3 over Zachary Vasquez.
 
Chance LaPier broke the match open at 197 pounds, controlling the match from the opening whistle against Niko Chitty on his way to a pin at the 4:22 mark. It was the first of three wins via fall on the day for Castleton, as Shea Garand followed up with one at 285 pounds. Garand's pin of Gabriel Duden came just 1:36 into the first period, putting Castleton up 24-0.
 
The Spartans added on six more points when Kaya Bogle claimed the win at 125 via forfeit, and Michael Gonyea registered a win via fall at 133 in just 1:28. James Rodriguez won 12-5, posting three team points with the decision to give Castleton a 39-0 lead. The night ended at 149 pounds, with Norwich's Kyle Merritt claiming the squad's only victory—a 7-0 decision over Elijah Cyr— finishing the evening with the Spartans on top, 39-3.
 
Castleton is on the road at the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Penn Tech this Saturday, with matches beginning at 11 a.m.