ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 22 Castleton University wrestling team is in second place after day one of competition at the loaded Ithaca Invitational, an event that features perennial powerhouse Johnson & Wales and fellow ranked opponent Baldwin Wallace.
 
The Spartans have 44 points as a team, second only to JWU's 56.5. Delaware Valley and Ithaca are tied at 34.5 points apiece as a team. Castleton has at least one wrestler remaining in contention for the title at each weight class with 13 total wrestlers still alive.
 
Kaya Bogle won twice at 125 pounds to move into the quarterfinals, besting Norwich's Carver Moyer before beating JWU's Ryan O'Rourke by pin in less than a minute. Michael Gonyea earned wins over Delaware Valley's Taylor Weaver and New England College's Patrick Hughes, both via fall, to earn his spot in the quarterfinals at 133 pounds.
 
James Rodriguez, who enters the season ranked No. 4 in the country at 141 pounds, snagged a pair of easy victories to move into the quarterfinals, winning via technical fall and major decision. He racked up 34 total points in his two bouts, winning 19-4 and 15-5. Both Nicholas Roeger and Elijah Cyr are in the quarterfinals at 149 pound with Roeger topping Norwich's Andrew Palmeri and JWU's Thomas DiResta via technical fall (15-0) and decision (5-2). Cyr bested Norwich's Carbur Rousseau and JWU's Edwin Morales, pinning Rousseau before taking a 12-5 decision against Morales.
 
In his first collegiate action, Jashon Holmes nabbed a pair of major decisions—14-3 and 16-2—over Springfield's Jared Schwartz and JWU's Benjamin Richardson to advance to the 157-pound quarterfinals. At 165 pounds, Michael Angers, who ranks 14th in the nation in his weight class, won a pair of decisions over Delaware Valley's Adam Coleman and Baldwin Wallace's Hunter Kupniewski to get to the quarters.
 
Cooper Fleming and Desmond McLaughlin are both in the quarterfinals at 174 pounds. Fleming—the seventh-ranked 174-pounder in the country—cruised to a pair of wins, pinning Western New England's Colsten Volpe and winning 17-1 via tech fall over Norwich's Tommy Howell. McLaughlin bested WNEU's Jaylen Hawkins 6-5 in his only match of the day to join Fleming in the quarterfinals.
 
At 184 pounds, Sampson Wilkins and Josh Negron both reached the quarterfinal round. Wilkins won via fall against Camron Callahan from Muskingum before topping WNEU's Tryeece Cherival 5-0. Negron won his only bout of the day by a 2-0 decision. Wilkins and Negron will go head-to-head in the quarterfinals for the right to advance to the semis.
 
Haven Tatarek remains in contention at 197 pounds after wins over Springfield's Doug Clark and JWU's Cameron Bailey. Both wins came via decision, the first of which was 10-5 and the second 6-4. Shea Garand rounds out the quarterfinalists for the Spartans with a win via fall in his only match of the day. The pin came in just 44 seconds against Oswego State's Kevin Arriaza.
 
The tournament concludes on Saturday with bouts beginning at 9 a.m.