WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The No. 24 Castleton University won an exhilarating matchup against Williams College Friday night, claiming a 19-18 victory via tiebreak criteria after winning each of the final two bouts of the night.
 
The Spartans trailed by six with two bouts remaining, but Michael Angers and Cooper Fleming each won by decision to knot the match at 18-18, leaving the final score to tiebreak criteria. Castleton got the nod with more pins in the match. The Spartans are now 15-2 on the season, setting a program record for single-season win percentage as a team (.882).
 
The match began at 184 pounds, with Williams' William Smith topping Sampson Wilkins with a 5-4 decision. Smith was ranked eighth in the most recent NEWA rankings, while Wilkins was the No. 5 184-pounder. Chance LaPier picked up a win for Castleton at 197 pounds, pinning Elias Chen in 2:43 to put Castleton up 6-3. Shea Garand added to the lead with a 5-3 decision over Thomas Goodwin, making it 9-3 Spartans.
 
David Yeh, ranked fourth in the NEWA, topped Frank Darwak with a 21-6 technical fall, bringing Williams within one, 9-8. The Ephs won the 133-pound bout with a 10-2 major decision, as Scotty Richter topped Michael Gonyea in a battle between No.7 and No. 4 133-pounders in the NEWA. Joseph Rosetti (NEWA No. 2) logged a 5-3 decision over James Rodriguez (NEWA No. 4), giving the Ephs a 15-9 lead. Nicholas Roeger stopped the bleeding for Castleton with a 6-2 decision over Jack Napeloni, keeping Castleton in the match at 15-12.
 
After Logan Dubuque fell 5-1 to Albert Xing to make it 18-12 Williams, the Spartans needed a win at 165 to remain in contention for the win. Angers came through with a 6-5 decision after a third-period takedown put him in the lead. The victory made the match score 18-15 with one bout remaining. Fleming came out quickly, leading 5-3 after the first period and 9-4 after the second. He tacked on one final takedown and earned a bonus point for riding time to seal a 12-5 decision and tying the match at 18-18.
 
The tiebreak was settled on the second criteria, with Castleton having one pin to Williams' zero. The first tiebreak criteria is matches won by a team, with the two sides splitting the match evenly with five wins apiece.
 
The Spartans are back in action Sunday, February 20, at the NEWA Futures Tournament.