NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The other part of the Vermont State University Castleton wrestling team appeared at the 61st Annual North Central College Invitational hosted by North Central on Saturday, finishing fourth out of 17 teams with six top-20 nationally ranked programs in attendance. The Spartans had six place-winners, highlighted by Josh Negron's second-place finish.

Castleton finished fourth with 101 team points, behind the host squad, No. 5 North Central, in third with 105.5 team points, No. 15 Coe in second with 130 team points, and No. 2 Augsburg in first with 178.5 team points. The Spartans finished over eighth-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater, 13th-ranked Wabash, and 20th-ranked Baldwin Wallace at the event.

Negron was the highest finisher for the Spartans at 197 pounds, posting a 3-1 record. He won his opening match against Paul Stanczak of Olivet by a 3-0 decision, then secured a 12-1 major decision over Ruben Vasquez of Concordia Wisconsin. Next, Negron defeated seventh-ranked Casey Aikman of No. 5 North Central with a 12-4 major decision, before losing the first-place match to No. 6 Ethan Winkelman of No. 2 Augsburg by a 6-2 decision.

Desmond McLaughlin finished third at 184 pounds, going 4-1 at the event. He started the day 2-0 with a technical fall win, followed by a decision, before falling via decision to Mike Taheny of Wabash. He then bounced back with a 4-1 sudden victory decision win over Zachary Huckaby of Wabash, and then met with Owen Greisbach of No. 2 Augsburg for the second time in the event, taking a 4-2 decision win to secure third-place.

Drew Marchese took fourth place at 125 pounds after a 3-2 outing, taking on the top two-ranked wrestlers in the country at 125 pounds throughout the day. He opened with two major decision wins, which brought him face-to-face with the No. 1 Christian Guzman of No. 5 North Central, where he fell via technical fall. He bounced back with a 15-0 technical fall win over Isaac Ash of Wabash, and fell via major decision in his final match of the day to No. 2 Brayden Parke of No. 15 Coe.

Castleton had three fifth-place finishers in Stone Farnsworth (133), Nicolas Balella (141), and Nathaniel Camiscioli (157). Farnsworth went 3-2 at 133 pounds, with two wins via decision and one via major decision. He matched up with No. 7 Brody Neighbor of No. 15 Coe in his second match of the day, falling via technical fall, while his second loss of the day came from a close 8-5 decision to Chance Suddeth of No. 2 Augsburg. Balella went 4-2 at 141 pounds, with a technical fall win, two decision wins, and taking his final match via medical forfeit. He was pinned in his second match of the day by Karter Guzman of No. 15 Coe and fell via major decision to No. 13 Dresden Grimm of No. 15 Coe. Castleton's final place-winner of the day was Camiscioli at 157 pounds, where he finished 3-2 on the day. He opened with two quick pins in his first two bouts, before falling via decision in back-to-back matches. He bounced back in his final match of the day with a 5-0 decision over Kael Kurtz of No. 15 Coe.

After the holiday break, the team will meet up with Ithaca College on Sunday, January 4.