SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – For the first time since the 2018-19 season, a pair of Castleton wrestlers have secured a spot at the NCAA Division III National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after stellar performances over the weekend at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships hosted by Springfield College.
 
Cooper Fleming and James Rodriguez led the way for the Spartans, who finished sixth as a team at the Regional Championships. Fleming locked up his spot at the National Championships with a second-place finish at 174 pounds, while Rodriguez punched his ticket at 141 pounds with a third-place finish. Castleton's sixth-place finish came in just behind fifth-place Roger Williams University. Coast Guard was the Regional champion, with Johnson & Wales in second. The sixth-place finish is the second-best result at the event in program history, one place behind the 2019 season's fifth-place finish.
 
In total, the Spartans had seven All-Region finishers. To be named All-Region, wrestlers must place in the top-eight finishers of their respective weight class. Castleton's All-Region honorees were Michael Gonyea (133), Rodriguez (141), Nicholas Roeger (149), Michael Angers (165), Fleming (174), Chance LaPier (197) and Shea Garand (285).
 
Fleming's day began with an upset victory over the No. 11 174-pounder in the country, as he topped Merchant Marine's Dominick Esposito in a thrilling decision, 7-6. He trailed 2-1 after the first period and 4-3 after the second, but notched a takedown and a two-point nearfall to take a 7-4 lead. An escape by Esposito and a riding time bonus point weren't enough for the nationally-ranked Esposito to erase the deficit, and Fleming locked up his spot at the National Championships and a trip to the 174-pound title match at the Regional. In the title bout, Fleming again went up against stiff nationally-ranked competition, this time taking on JWU's Mike Ross. Fleming fell behind early and the match was all Ross, ending in a 17-1 technical fall and giving Fleming a second-place finish.
 
Rodriguez opened the day with a tight loss to Joe Rossetti, No. 12 in Division III at 141 pounds. Rossetti took a 1-0 lead with a second-period escape after choosing bottom, and rode Rodriguez for the entirety of the third period to earn a riding time point as well. Rodriguez's only point came on a locking hands penalty against Rossetti as the match ended 2-1.  A 7-3 win in the consolation semifinals over Coast Guard's Caden Mareno sent Rodriguez to the third-place match, with the winner earning a ticket to the NCAA National Championships. He faced off for the second time on the weekend with Trinity's Chris Perry. Rodriguez jumped out to an early lead, netting a first-period takedown. He tallied another takedown in the second period, leading 4-3 heading into the final two minutes of the bout. A quick takedown in the third secured a 6-3 lead, and Perry's escape came after enough riding time had accumulated for Rodriguez to earn the bonus point, making the final a 7-4 decision.
 
Three other Spartans began the day in the semifinal round, but fell to nationally-ranked opposition to move to the consolation bracket. Gonyea dropped a pair of decisions at 133, finding himself in the fifth-place match against Coast Guard's Chase Randall. Gonyea was the winner by medical forfeit, finishing fifth and earning All-Region honors. Angers finished fifth as well at 165 pounds, dropping two matches to start Sunday before winning the final matchup against Kevin Lyskawa of Trinity, 4-2. LaPier followed the same path as Angers and Gonyea, winning the fifth-place match by a 12-4 major decision over Western New England's Darby McLaughlin—his second win over McLaughlin on the weekend.
 
Roeger and Garand were still alive to start the day in the consolation bracket. Roeger fell to JWU's Gabriel McDaniel in a 12-3 major decision, and then dropped the fifth-place match to Chase Parrott of Springfield, 6-5. Parrott notched a takedown with just seconds remaining on the clock to win the match against Roeger. Garand dropped his first match of the day to Coast Guard's Timothy Ganuncio to land in the seventh-place match, where he bested NEC's Frances Boahen with a pin in just 1:44.
 
Fleming and Rodriguez now travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, March 11 & 12 for the NCAA National Championships. They are just the fourth and fifth wrestlers all-time to appear at the event for Castleton, joining Zak Hale, Jesse Webb and Max Tempel on the prestigious list for the Spartans.