LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 17 Castleton University wrestling team picked up a pair of wins at the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals on Friday, wrestling three nationally-ranked teams on the first day of competition at the event.
 
Castleton is now 7-3 on the season in dual meets with its only three losses coming to teams ranked inside the top-10 nationally.
 
The Spartans opened the day with a convincing victory over Olivet before falling to the No. 3 team in the nation in Wisconsin-La Crosse. Castleton then topped No. 14 Wisconsin-Platteville before ending the day with a loss to No. 5 North Central. Castleton will wrestle in the 9th-12th Place Bracket on Saturday. Matches begin at 11 a.m. with Castleton taking on No. 9 Wisconsin-Whitewater.
 
Castleton senior Michael Gonyea earned his 100th career victory on the day, becoming the fourth wrestler in program history to win 100 matches in a Spartan singlet. He won each of his first three bouts on the day, the second of which was the milestone victory.
 
Castleton also had a number of wrestlers compete in the NUWAY College Open in Louisville as well, with Darius Mangiafico finishing fifth at 157 and Ayden Robles and Josh Negron finishing eighth at 133 and 184, respectively.
 
CASTLETON 29, OLIVET 12
The Spartans jumped out to a quick lead against Olivet, with Kaya Bogle pinning Emmett Kettel in the 125-pound match to start. Gonyea then notched a 16-1 technical fall before James Rodriguez won a 3-1 decision to put Castleton ahead 14-0 through three matchups. Elijah Cyr kept the ball rolling with a 9-6 decision before the Spartans suffered back-to-back losses at 157 and 165. Jashon Holmes was topped 13-6 to make it 17-3 in the team scoring before Michael Angers was beaten 8-6 by Kameron Bush—the 10th-ranked 165-pounder in the nation. Cooper Fleming got Castleton back in the win column with a 3:56 pin over Owen Guildford and Sampson Wilkins—fresh off a promotion to No. 15 in the nation at 184—won a 5-0 decision over Justin Carnahan. Haven Tatarek was victorious 4-2 to make it 29-6 before the match ended with Shea Garand losing via fall to the top heavyweight in Division III, Donovan King.
 
WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE 27, CASTLETON 10
Castleton got off to a hot start once again, earning wins at each of the first three weight classes. Bogle won a 9-0 major decision to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead. Gonyea made it 7-0 Spartans after a 7-3 decision for his 100th win, and Rodriguez pushed the lead to 10-0 with a 3-1 decision of his own. That was all the Spartans could muster, as six of the remaining seven wrestlers for UW-La Crosse were ranked inside the top-11 in the nation at their respective weight classes. La Crosse swept the remainder of the bouts, earning the 27-10 victory.
 
CASTLETON 22, WISCONSIN-PLATTEVILLE 18
The Spartans needed a win to stay alive, and they got off to yet another quality start when Gavin Bradley earned a 3:58 pin at 125 to open the match. Gonyea followed with a win via injury default to make it 12-0 and Rodriguez added three more with a 12-6 decision win. Cyr won again with a 15-7 major decision before a loss by Holmes put Platteville on the board, 19-4. Angers got in the win column for Castleton for the first time on the day with a 5-2 win to make it 22-4. The Pioneers won the remainder of the bouts, but Castleton kept them from racking up big points as a team, losing by no worse than major decision to hang on for the 22-18 win.
 
NORTH CENTRAL 28, CASTLETON 6
Bogle continued his hot streak, moving his record to 3-0 on the day with a 5-2 decision win in the first matchup. The win came against Julian Valtierrez, the No. 10 125-pounder in the country. Gonyea dropped his first bout of the day to the No. 1 133 pounder in the nation in Robbie Precin, as Precin carded a fall in 1:56. Bradley Rosen beat Rodriguez in a 4-2 decision to make it 9-3 North Central before the Cardinals rattled off three more wins to stretch the lead to 19-3. Fleming notched a 7-4 win at 174 pounds over Jared Gumila but the Cardinals took each of the final three bouts for the 28-6 victory.