CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The No. 6 Vermont State University Castleton wrestling team overcame a slow start to the NWCA National Duals on Friday, winning a pair of matches to end the night—highlighted by a historic victory over the No. 5 team in the nation in Baldwin Wallace.
 
The Spartans suffered their first loss of the season in the opening dual against No. 17 Wisconsin-Whitewater 19-12, but rebounded with a 24-13 win over Millikin before knocking off Baldwin Wallace 19-17 in the nightcap. The win over fifth-ranked Baldwin Wallace gives the Spartans their highest-ranked victory in program history, topping last year's win over then-No. 7 Wabash at the 2023 NWCA National Duals.
 
The Spartans are guaranteed a top-eight finish as a team with the opportunity to finish as high as fifth at the event on Saturday. The team took 11th place last year in its first-ever appearance at the tournament. VTSU Castleton is now 8-1 on the season in dual meet action and will face NEWA rival Johnson & Wales—the No. 10 team in the nation—on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Central time.
 
No. 17 UW-Whitewater 19, No. 6 VTSU Castleton 12
The Spartans got off to a tough start against the 17th-ranked Warhawks, suffering losses at 125 pounds and 133 pounds as Gavin Bradley and Drew Marchese both dropped decisions. Marchese went toe-to-toe with the nation's No. 5 wrestler in his weight class in Dominik Mallinder. James Rodriguez, ranked ninth nationally, got the Spartans on the board with an overtime win, beating the No. 10 141-pounder 3-2, scoring a reversal from bottom position in the first tiebreak period.
 
Following Rodriguez's victory, UW-Whitewater rattled off four straight victories to pull ahead 19-3 going into the final three bouts. The Spartans still had a chance, but needed decisive victories to pull off the comeback. All three remaining Spartans were victorious, with Sampson Wilkins, Darby McLaughlin and Abbas Abdulrahman taking decision victories at 184, 197 and 285, but the Spartans fell short 19-12 in the end.
 
No. 6 VTSU Castleton 24, Millikin 13
Bradley's second match of the day was a tight one, with the sixth-ranked Spartan facing off with the No. 2 125-pounder in the country in Zac Blasioli. Bradley held his own, going deep into overtime before falling 2-1 in the first tiebreak period. Marchese responded with an 11-6 victory at 133 to level the match score at 3-3 and Rodriguez put Castleton ahead 6-3 with an 11-4 win of his own at 141.
 
Millikin regained a 9-6 lead after decisions at both 149 & 157 went the way of the Big Blue, but Nicholas Roeger was credited with a forfeit victory to push the Spartans ahead 12-9. A major decision win by Millkin at 174 put them back ahead 13-12, but a major decision in return from Wilkins at 184 gave the Spartans the lead once more, 16-13. Wilkins cruised to a 10-1 win, setting the stage for a tech fall by McLaughlin at 197. McLaughlin took the 197-pound tilt 19-4, sealing the victory for Castleton heading into the final bout of the dual with Castleton leading 21-13 with a maximum of six team points left to grab. Adbulrahman tacked on a decision win to set the final score at 24-13.
 
No. 6 VTSU Castleton 19, No. 5 Baldwin Wallace 17
Bradley drew another tough opponent to open the dual against Baldwin Wallace, facing the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at 125 in Jacob Decatur. Decatur logged a pair of first-period takedowns to charge ahead, but Bradley battled hard to limit Decatur to a decision and only three team points for Baldwin Wallace. Marchese then got shutout by the No. 4 133-pounder Jaden Hinton in a tech fall to put the Spartans in an 8-0 hole, but Rodriguez got the Spartans on the board with an 8-6 win that featured takedowns in each of the first two periods.
 
At 149, the nation's No. 1 Michael Petrella topped Jashon Holmes 17-1 to extend Baldwin Wallace's lead to 13-3 just four matches in. The Spartans buckled down from there, with Nathaniel Camiscioli taking a 3-2 victory over Thomas West to get the score to 13-6. Roeger made it 13-9 with an 8-6 win at 165 pounds against 15th-ranked Andrew Supers. At 174 pounds, Desmond McLaughlin landed a huge victory against No. 10 Joseph Petrella, posting a 3-2 decision to pull within a point, 13-12.
 
Wilkins won his third match of the day, an 8-3 decision, to put Castleton ahead 15-13 and Darby McLaughlin won his third match with a 21-9 major decision to make it a 19-13 edge for the Spartans. Heading to the final bout, the only result the Spartans needed to avoid was a loss via fall. Abdulrahman wrestled hard against the nation's No. 4 heavyweight Doug Byrne, falling via 12-2 major decision, but avoided the pin to secure the team victory for the Spartans, 19-17.
 
NUWAY Open & Extra Matches
In alternate action on Friday, Tylik Epps placed first in the 141-pound bracket of the NUWAY Open. He scored a win via fall, two wins via major decision and a tech fall to claim the title. Shea Garand placed second in the 285-pound bracket of the NUWAY Open, winning his first three matches via fall before suffering a loss in the title bout.
 
In extra matches, Caleb Massari, Kaya Bogle and Evan Day all went 3-0. Haven Tatarek and Josh Negron were 2-0 each while Syrus Colon went 2-1 and Caleb Rojas went 1-1.