CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Castleton University sophomore James Rodriguez earned an eighth-place finish in his first-ever NCAA National Championship, marking the highest finish at the event for any Spartan in program history.
 
Rodriguez opened the 141-pound bracket with a 3-1 record on Friday, guaranteeing himself two matches on Saturday and a spot on the All-America list for his weight class. His first match Saturday was a rematch of his first match on Friday, taking on the No. 2 seed, Jimmy McAuliffe. He gave McAuliffe a tighter match on Saturday, but came up short 4-0 to earn a spot in the seventh-place match against Messiah's Josiah Gehr. Rodriguez battled once again, but came up on the short end of a 7-2 decision to take eighth place at the event.
 
Rodriguez and teammate Cooper Fleming put the finishing touches on an impressive season for the Castleton wrestling program by reaching new heights at the NCAA National Championships. Rodriguez finished the week with three wins, and Fleming with two. They are just the second and third wrestlers to win a match at the NCAA National Championships, and rank Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in wins at the event for Castleton following the weekend.