SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The No. 13 Castleton University wrestling team tied a program-best finish at the NEWA Dual Championships on Sunday, placing third at the 16-team event.
 
No. 2 Johnson & Wales prevailed as the champions at the event, with No. 22 Coast Guard finishing second. Castleton bested host Springfield College in the third-place match, with the Spartans taking the No. 3 place and Springfield landing fourth. Castleton's James Rodriguez was named to the All-Tournament Team after a 4-0 showing on the day. Castleton also finished third in 2022
 
Castleton opened the morning with a dominant victory over New England College, 42-12, before beating Williams College 41-4 in the quarterfinals. In a battle between nationally-ranked programs in the semifinals, Castleton came up short against Coast Guard 23-12 before rebounding with a win in the third-place match against Springfield, 25-6.
 
Cooper Fleming joined Rodriguez with a 4-0 record on the day, while Shea Garand won all three of his bouts. Jashon Holmes went 2-0 on the day while wrestling up a weight class at 165.
 
CASTLETON 42, NEC 12
The Spartans opened the day against New England College, a team they had just beaten at home on Wednesday night. Gavin Bradley got the nod at 125, winning via fall in just 2:25. After a loss via fall at 133, Castleton got back in the win column at 141 when Rodriguez won via fall in 2:04. Elijah Cyr, Nicholas Roeger, Darius Mangiafico and Cooper Fleming were all awarded wins via forfeit to extend Castleton's lead to 36-6, but NEC was victorious via decision at 184 to stop the run. Josh Negron won a 3-1 decision at 197 before NEC won an overtime decision at heavyweight to end the match.
 
CASTLETON 41, WILLIAMS 4
The Spartans' second match was much like the first, with Castleton opening with a win via fall at 125—this time by Kaya Bogle. Michael Gonyea followed with a decision win at 133 before Rodriguez posted a 22-7 technical fall to make it 14-0 Castleton. Roeger earned a third-period pin at the 5:51 mark for a 20-0 lead before Williams won its only bout with a major decision at 157. Holmes claimed a 7-2 decision at 165 for Castleton before Fleming and Negron added decision wins of their own. First-period pins by Sampson Wilkins and Shea Garand ended the match with Castleton on top 41-4.
 
COAST GUARD 23, CASTLETON 12
Coast Guard claimed each of the first two bouts by decision, but a win at 141 by Rodriguez put Castleton on the board trailing 6-3. An overtime win by Coast Guard at 149 pushed the gap to 9-3, but Cyr made it 9-6 with an overtime win of his own. A major decision that went in Coast Guard's favor at 165 made it 13-6, but Castleton hung tough with a win by Fleming at 174 to make it 13-9. A major decision at 184 and a pin at 197—both of which went to Coast Guard—put Castleton in too deep a hole to climb out of, 23-9, with just one bout remaining. Garand was victorious in a 4-1 decision, but Castleton fell 23-12 in the semifinals to slot into the third-place match.
 
CASTLETON 25, SPRINGFIELD 6
Bradley opened the third-place match with an overtime win at 125 before the Pride took the 133-pound bout via decision to knot the score at 3-3. Consecutive decision wins by Rodriguez and Roeger gave Castleton a 9-3 lead before Springfield cut into the gap with a decision win at 157. Holmes rebounded for Castleton with a 9-7 win via decision at 165 and started a run of five straight Spartan victories to end the match. Fleming won 10-5 at 174, Wilkins earned a 10-1 major decision at 184 and Negron was a 6-0 winner at 197. Garand won a 9-4 decision at 285 to cap the match.
 
Castleton returns to the mat Friday night at 7 p.m. when it hosts Western New England at Glenbrook Gym.