HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Castleton University wrestling team upset No. 11 Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the nationally-ranked Ducks by a final score of 27-18 at Canavan Arena.
The victory moves Castleton to 2-0 on the young season, while Stevens falls to 0-1 after dropping its first match of the season. Castleton also defeated a nationally-ranked Stevens team during the 2019-20 season, downing a then-No. 8 Ducks team by a score of 26-23 in November 2019. Castleton is now 2-1 all-time against Stevens.
The Spartans earned wins from six wrestlers on the day, including a match-changing pin from Cooper Fleming at 174 pounds. Fleming's win came in the midst of four consecutive victories by the Spartans, and helped turn a 12-9 deficit into a 21-12 lead with only two bouts remaining. After Castleton dropped the 197-pound bout, the Spartans won the heavyweight class via forfeit to seal the 27-18 victory.
The day began with a narrow loss for Elijah Cyr at 125, as he trailed 6-0 early but fought his way back into the match in the second period. He finished on the short end of an 11-9 decision, putting Castleton in an early hole, 3-0. The Spartans bounced back quickly, however, as Michael Gonyea earned a 5-2 win via decision in his first action since the end of the 2018-19 season. In his first match after missing an entire year due to injury, Gonyea fell behind 2-0 before scoring four consecutive points, plus a bonus point for riding time, to claim a 5-2 win via decision. The victory knotted the score at 3-3 after two bouts.
Castleton again found itself in a hole, 6-3, after James Rodriguez dropped the 141-pound bout to nationally-ranked Kyle Slendorn. Slendorn checked in at No. 8 in the most recent Intermat Division III rankings for 141-pounders, but Rodriguez gave him a difficult match. The Spartan rookie jumped out to a 4-2 lead after the first period, registering two takedowns in the opening three minutes. Slendorn battled back in the second period, however, knotting the match at 4-4 through two frames. Slendorn controlled the match the remainder of the way, however, rolling to an 8-4 win via decision to put Stevens back on top. Stevens added to its lead at 149, as the No. 2 149-pounder in the country took down Keegan Coon with a pin in 3:35, making it a 12-3 edge for the hosts.
Castleton began its comeback with the 157-pound bout, as Max Tempel—the No. 5 157-pounder in the nation—battled his way to a 5-1 victory via decision to narrow the lead to 12-6. Michael Angers followed that bout with a 10-3 decision win of his own at 165 pounds to make it 12-9 in favor of Stevens.
Castleton took its first lead of the afternoon during the 174-pound bout, as Fleming pinned his opponent late in the first period. Trailing 4-2 with less than a minute in the frame, Fleming reversed the match and pinned Joel Martsinovsky with just seven seconds remaining in the opening period. The victory gave Castleton a 15-12 edge, which then extended to 21-12 when Stevens forfeited the 184-pound bout.
One of the nation's best 197-pounders—Michael Dooley—cut the Castleton lead back to just three points when he pinned Haven Tatarek in 2:44. The Spartan victory was sealed immediately after, however, as Stevens forfeited the heavyweight bout to give Castleton the 27-18 victory.
Stevens won four out of five exhibition matches following the dual meet, with Castleton's only win coming from Kaden Gransbury by way of fall in 2:54.
The Spartans return to the mat on Friday when they travel to NJCU for a 3 p.m. match with the Gothic Knights.
