CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Vermont State University Castleton wrestling program cemented itself as one of the top teams in the nation this season, placing seventh at the NWCA National Duals.
 
The Spartans, who entered the tournament as the No. 6 team in the NWCA's latest Dual Rankings, took home redemption with a dominant 35-4 victory over No. 17 Wisconsin-Whitewater in the seventh-place match. Whitewater had previously handed the Spartans their first loss of the season on Saturday in the opening round of the tournament for Castleton. The Spartans dropped Saturday's first dual to No. 10 Johnson & Wales in a tight match, 21-18. VTSU Castleton is now 9-2 in dual matches this season and topped last year's 11th-place finish at the NWCA National Duals as a team.
 
The Spartans have been road warriors over the last week, traveling more than 5,000 miles in the last 10 days by the time the team returns home from Iowa. The trip included a first-place finish at the Citrus Invitational in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a return trip home to Vermont, and the trip to Iowa for the NWCA National Duals. VTSU Castleton will now rest for two weeks in preparation for the NEWA Duals as the program looks to claim its first-ever conference championship on January 21 in Springfield, Mass.
 
No. 10 Johnson & Wales 21, No. 6 VTSU Castleton 18
Gavin Bradley got the Spartans off to a quick start on Saturday, winning 20-6 for a major decision and narrowly missing out on a tech fall against JWU's Harrison Gordon—the 11th-ranked 125-pounder nationally. At 133, Kaya Bogle was hanging close with the nation's top wrestler in the weight in Joziah Fry when the Wildcat netted a takedown that led to a pin to put JWU up 6-4. James Rodriguez was an 8-3 winner at 141 pounds to make it 7-6 Spartans through three weight classes.
 
After another Wildcat pin at 149 made it 12-6 JWU, Nathaniel Camiscioli won an 11-2 major decision against nationally-ranked Jack Richardson and Nicholas Roeger took a tight decision 9-8 over Patrick Wisniewski to give the Spartans a 13-12 lead once again. The Wildcats took each of the next three bouts by decision to clinch the match before Abbas Abdulrahman won a 9-0 major decision to cap the match at 21-18.
 
No. 6 VTSU Castleton 35, No. 17 UW-Whitewater 4
After dropping the first match Friday to the Warhawks, the Spartans sought redemption in the seventh-place match on Saturday. Castleton was handed an early lead when the Warhawks forfeited the 125-pound match, and Drew Marchese extended the lead to 10-0 with a 12-3 win against the No. 10 141-pounder who was wrestling down a weight in John Fortugno. Whitewater's only win came at 149, with Castleton claiming wins in each of the final six weight classes.
 
Camiscioli won 5-1 at 157, Roeger claimed an 11-1 major decision at 165, and Desmond McLaughlin won 4-1 in overtime at 174 to officially clinch the victory for the Spartans, who led 23-4 with three bouts left. At 184, Josh Negron earned a pin in 2:29 and Haven Tatarek won a narrow decision, 2-1, at 197. Evan Day picked up a 5-0 victory to seal the final score for the match, 35-4.
 
Penn Tech Tournament
The Spartan wrestlers who didn't travel with the team to Iowa for the NWCA National Duals spent Saturday wrestling at the Penn Tech Tournament in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
 
The Spartans had six total place winners, highlighted by Blake Chapman's first-place finish in the 157-pound bracket. Chapman went 4-0 on the day and had two tech falls, a pin and a decision.
 
Logan Frank, Jacob Caricato and Connor Gregory all finished fourth in their respective brackets, while Cruz Henton and Corbin Maraia placed fifth in their weight classes.