EWING, N.J. – The Castleton University wrestling team continued its unbeaten start to the 2021 season Saturday, defeating nationally-ranked The College of New Jersey by a final score of 21-17.
 
The Spartans were leading the No. 13 team in the nation by just one point—18-17—heading into the heavyweight bout to end the evening. After falling behind and trailing late in the third period, Chance LaPier registered a critical takedown to claim a one-point win by decision, propelling Castleton to victory. Castleton is now 4-0 on the season, while TCNJ suffered its first loss of the year to fall to 3-1.
 
Frank Darwak opened the day with a win at 125 pounds, defeating Nick Denora by decision, 10-5, to give Castleton a 3-0 lead. Michael Gonyea followed that bout up with a technical fall victory at 133 pounds, beating Larry Mecionda 17-0 to push the Spartan lead to 8-0.
 
Domenic Difrancescantonio got TCNJ on the board with a win at 141 pounds over James Rodriguez. Difrancescantonio won via decision, 5-2, to make it 8-3 in favor of Castleton. The gap was tightened even more at 149 pounds, as Robert Dinger bested Logan Dubuque via fall in 4:24 to make it just a one-point match: 9-8.
 
Max Tempel—the fifth-ranked 157-pounder in the nation—stopped the skid for Castleton, winning via major decision over David Santiago, 10-0, to give the Spartans a 12-9 lead. That lead extended to 15-9 after another victory for Castleton, this time by Michael Angers at 165 pounds. Angers bested Matthew Sacco with a 9-4 decision to give Castleton a six-point cushion.
 
Reid Colella came out on top in the 174-pound bout against Cooper Fleming, as Fleming suffered his first loss of the season by way of a 5-2 decision. The victory at 174 for TCNJ narrowed Castleton's lead back to three, 15-12. Sampson Wilkins was victorious for the Spartans 184 pounds, blanking Thomas Anderson on his way to a 3-0 victory via decision. The win for Wilkins gave Castleton a six-point cushion once more, 18-12, with just two bouts remaining.
 
After Haven Tatarek fell via technical fall, 15-0, to the fifth-ranked 197-pounder in the nation, Castleton's lead was cut to just one point: 18-17. With the outcome of the match on the line, LaPier went toe-to-toe with Dylan D'Amore at the heavyweight class. D'Amore took an early lead, but LaPier battled back each time in the first period. After an evenly-matched second period, LaPier found himself trailing 6-5 in his bout with less than 30 seconds remaining in the third period. With time ticking down, LaPier managed a two-point takedown of D'Amore to go ahead 7-6, and refused to allow him off the mat as the timer ran out for the victory for LaPier.
 
The two sides also wrestled 11 exhibition bouts on the day, with TCNJ controlling a majority of those matches. Castleton managed a pair of exhibition wins, as Aidan Cullen won via decision, 7-2, and Syrus Colon won via decision, 5-1.
 
Castleton is back in action on February 28 at home against New England College at 1 p.m.