WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The 24th-ranked Castleton University wrestling program came away with a third-place finish at the Budd Whitehill National Duals hosted by Lycoming College on Saturday, falling to eventual-champion Ohio Northern in the semifinals before beating Washington & Lee in the third-place matchup.
 
The Spartans are now 6-1 on the season in dual competition, going 3-1 on the weekend at the event. The Castleton JV squad finished in ninth place, winning both matches on Saturday over Southern Virginia University and Ferrrum College. The JV group went 3-1 on the weekend as well. Frank Darwak and Jakai Townsend were named to the All-Tournament Team for their respective weight classes at the event.
 
Castleton vs. Ohio Northern – Semifinals
The Spartans started out strong, winning back-to-back matches to take a 6-0 lead over ONU. Owen Kretschmer defeated Colin Mellot by 4-2 decision, before Michael Gonyea bested Dylan Le with a 10-8 decision. ONU got on the board with a 6-2 decision win at 141 pounds, as Jacob Reed downed James Rodriguez. Ohio Northern took the lead at 149 pounds when Chase Sumner knocked off Nicholas Roeger with an 8-0 major decision, making it 7-6 ONU. The Polar Bears continued to extend the lead at 157 pounds, with Schuyler Caprella beating Logan Dubuque, 4-0. Jordan Hardrick downed Michael Angers by 3-1 decision at 165, and Nick Campbell knocked off Cooper Fleming at 174 with an 8-4 decision to make it 16-6 ONU.
 
Sampson Wilkins stopped the run for the Spartans, winning a 4-2 decision at 184 pounds to bring the score back to 16-9. Cash Thompson bested Chance LaPier 16-0 via technical fall, sealing the win for ONU, and Logan Painter capped the match with a pin of Shea Garand at 285 to give the match its 27-9 final.
 
Castleton vs. Washington & Lee – Third-Place Match
Kretschmer dropped the opening match at 125 via major decision, 19-5, but the Spartans rattled off wins at each of the next eight weight classes to take a 28-4 lead. Gonyea started the run at 133 with a pin in 2:04, followed by decision wins by Rodriguez, Roeger, Dubuque and Angers. Fleming logged a major-decision victory before Wilkins and LaPier picked up wins via decision. Clay Chadwick pinned Garand to end the match, but the Spartans finished on top 28-10.
 
Castleton (JV) vs. Southern Virginia
Evan Kinney started the day with a major-decision win for the Spartans' JV squad at 125, followed by a win via pin at 133 by Darwak. Jack Taylor earned a win via forfeit at 141 to extend Castleton's lead to 16-0. Elijah Cyr dropped a 7-1 decision that allowed SVU to get on the board, but Jacob Caricato pinned his opponent before Ethan Palanca, Syrus Colon, Stephen Jennings and Haven Tatarek all earned wins via forfeit, giving Castleton a 46-3 edge. Abbas Abdulrahman fell via pin in 38 seconds at 285, but Castleton's JV group had long-since sealed the win, the match ending with Castleton on top 46-9.
 
Castleton (JV) vs. Ferrum – Ninth-Place Match
Kinney dropped a high-scoring decision at 125, 14-13, but Darwak earned six points for the team with a win via forfeit at 133. After Taylor got pinned at 141, Cyr claimed a 6-4 decision at 149 to tie the match at 9-9. Ferrum earned a pair of decision wins to go ahead 15-9, but a forfeit win for Colon tied the match at 15-15. A decision win for Tatarek at 184 gave the Spartans an 18-15 lead they would not relinquish, as Jennings won via forfeit to make it 24-15. Abdulrahman capped the afternoon with a pin at 285, needing just 1:36 to end the match and seal a 30-15 win for the Spartans.
 
Castleton is back in action next Saturday, January 15, when it hosts the Castleton University Quad match. The Spartans will play host to New England College, Rochester Institute of Technology and New Jersey City University. Matches begin at noon.