JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Castleton University wrestling team continued its early-season dominance on Friday, cruising to a 39-14 victory at New Jersey City University.
The win moves the Spartans to 3-0 on the season, while NJCU falls to 0-2 with both losses coming against Castleton. The Spartans claimed seven out of 10 weight classes on the day, winning three times by fall and three times by technical fall. Castleton also earned a win via forfeit to reach the 39-point team total. NJCU won once via pin, once via tech fall and claimed a decision win as well for its 14 total points.
Frank Darwak started the day with a win for Castleton at 125 pounds, pinning George Rivera in the second period. Darwak was trailing for a majority of the match late in the second period, but turned the tables on Rivera to give Castleton a 6-0 lead after one bout. The lead then doubled to 12-0 as Kaya Bogle was awarded a win via forfeit at 133 pounds.
James Rodriguez continued to pile onto the Castleton lead, continually scoring points on David Guerra en route to a 22-7 win via technical fall that concluded late in the third period. The win by Rodriguez pushed the Spartan lead to 17-0 before NJCU got on the board with a win at 149 pounds, where Rob Cleary defeated Logan Dubuque 18-2 via tech fall to make it a 17-5 match in the team scoring.
Max Tempel answered back with a tech fall win of his own, cruising to a 21-6 win at 157 pounds over Jake Sisk to make it a 22-5 edge for Castleton in the team scoring. After Aidan Cullen was pinned by Tyler Bailey at 165 pounds, Syrus Colon responded with a pin for Castleton in the final minute of the first period. Colon's pin pushed the Spartan lead to 28-11. A second straight Spartan pin by Haven Tatarek made it 34-11, as Tatarek notched the pin in 3:55.
Sampson Wilkins put up a strong battle at 197, working to erase a deficit in the final period, but came up just one point short of forcing overtime as he dropped a 4-3 decision to Kyle Hillermeier. Hillermeier's win cut the lead to 34-14, but a dominant showing from Chance LaPier at the heavyweight division led to a 20-2 technical fall and 39-14 victory for the Spartans.
In exhibition matches, Bogle and Alijah Seymor earned wins for Castleton—Bogle by fall and Seymour by major decision—while Cayleb Leclerc dropped his 165-pound exhibition bout.
Castleton is back in action February 20 at The College of New Jersey. Match time is slated for 2:30 p.m.
