ROANOKE, Va. – Castleton University wrestler James Rodriguez recorded a program-best finish at the NCAA National Championships on Saturday, placing seventh in the 141-pound bracket.
 
Rodriguez tops his previous program record, an eighth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA National Championships. He became the school's first All-American last season, and repeated the honor this year in Roanoke. Rodriguez finishes the 2022-23 season with a record of 44-5.
 
He began Saturday in the consolation bracket after going 2-1 on Friday to cement himself as a top-eight place-finisher. He matched up with Stevens Tech's Kyle Slendorn in the consolation quarterfinals, with Slendorn as the four seed and Rodriguez as the eight seed in the event. Slendorn took a 3-0 lead in the second period, choosing bottom and earning an escape before notching a takedown of Rodriguez 40 seconds after escaping. That was all the scoring in the match, with Slendorn earning the bonus point for riding time at the end for a 4-0 decision.
 
The loss sent Rodriguez back to the seventh-place match for the second year in a row. In 2022, Rodriguez fell to Messiah's Josiah Gehr in a 7-2 decision. Rodriguez was determined to change the result this year, getting in front early with a first-period takedown for a 2-0 lead against Greensboro College's Josh Wilson. Rodriguez chose bottom in the second period and tallied a point with an escape to push the lead to 3-0, and a takedown midway through the second period extended the lead to 5-0. Wilson escaped after the takedown to make it 5-1 heading to the final two minutes. Wilson chose bottom and earned a quick escape, but Rodriguez did not concede another point as he held on to win a 5-2 decision and claim seventh at the event.
 
The NCAA National Championships conclude later Saturday night with medals and other special awards announced during the closing ceremonies.