GORHAM, Maine – The Vermont State University Castleton wrestling team finished second out of 10 teams at the 20th annual Ted Reese Invitational hosted by Southern Maine on Saturday. The Spartans had 17 place-winners, highlighted by four first-place winners.

Drew Marchese finished first at 125 pounds following a 2-0 day on the mat. He faced off in his opening bout against Jackson Bauer of Coast Guard, winning 18-2 via technical fall, and took the first-place match 16-2 over Kekoa Madayag of Coast Guard for a major decision win. At 141 pounds, Nicolas Balella finished first, going 4-0 on the day. He opened with a bout against Caleb O'Rourke of Emmanuel College, winning 20-3 via technical fall. He then earned two wins via decision to make it to the finals. There, he took down Kyle Moore of Southern Maine via a 4-1 decision to become the Spartans' second first-place finisher of the day.

At 149 pounds, Joseph Kennedy notched first-place, following a 5-0 day at the event. He started his day with three pins, his fastest at 1:08 against Nick Sanders of Coast Guard. In the semifinals, he notched a tight 11-10 win via decision over Shane Moore of the host squad Southern Maine to move onto the first-place match, where he earned a 4-1 decision win over Dan Williams of Coast Guard. Josh Negron was Castleton's final first-place winner at 197 pounds, going 3-0 on the day. He opened with a pin in 2:10, followed by a 10-7 decision to move on to the finals. There, he took down Joe Bernard of WPI 6-3 for a win via decision and first-place.

Desmond McLaughlin was the lone second-place finisher for Castleton, going 3-1 in the event. In his opening bout, he pinned his opponent in 1:11 and took down his second opponent 20-5 via technical fall. He then earned a 9-0 major decision win to make his way to the first-place match. He battled with Gabe Monroe of Coast Guard, but ultimately fell via a 4-1 decision.

Stone Farnsworth, Jashon Holmes, and Keonta Crawford finished third for the Spartans in their respective weight classes. Farnsworth went 4-1 on the day at 133 pounds, taking down teammate Aidan Shufelt 11-9 for a decision win in the third-place match. Holmes finished 4-1 at 165 pounds, narrowly taking the third-place match 5-4 via decision over the 11th-ranked wrestler Chase Anestis of Plymouth State. Crawford took third at 285 pounds, after a 4-1 outing. His only loss of the day came at the hands of the second-ranked wrestler at 285 pounds, Carl Digiorgio, but he bounced back with a decision win to make his way to the third-place match, where he pinned Trevor Bowen of WPI in 3:19.

Castleton had four fourth-place finishers in Shufelt, Dom Lapier, Jake Long, and Logan Frank. Shufelt went 3-2 in his outing at 133 pounds, where he matched up with the fifth-ranked Jake Craig in the semifinals, falling via a 6-1 decision. He bounced back against his next opponent with a 2-0 decision win to meet with Farnsworth in the third-place match, where he fell via decision. Lapier finished 4-2 at 149 pounds. His largest victory of the day was a 20-4 technical fall win over Andrew Brevot of RPI. In the third-place match, he battled with Nick Sanders of Coast Guard, but fell 9-6, taking fourth. Long went 4-2 in his outing at 184 pounds; he ultimately fell via pin in the third-place match, after starting the day with a 19-4 technical fall win over Kyle Stickel of Maine Maritime. Frank appeared for the Spartans at 197 pounds, going 4-2. He had three pins on the day, with his fastest clocking in at 43 seconds, before he fell via technical fall in the third-place match.

Viktor Banda and Zach Olden were the fifth-place finishers for the Spartans, at 141 and 165 pounds, respectively. Banda finished the day 4-2, with his largest victory coming in his opening bout over Samuel Rodrigues of WPI, 15-0. Olden went 4-2 in his outing, posting his fastest pin time of the season in 31 seconds over teammate Colin Diffee. Colby Celuck, Jack Brown, and Colton Perkins finished sixth in their respective weight classes of 174, 197, and 285 pounds for Castleton. Celuck finished 2-2 on the day, with his largest victory coming in his opening bout against John-Michael Economos of WPI, with a 20-3 technical fall win. Brown went 3-3 in his outing, posting his fastest pin of the season in 1:03 over Eamon Divenuto of WPI. Perkins finished 2-3 at the event to round out the Spartans' place-winners.  

The team will participate in split-squad action next weekend, December 13, as part of the team will head to the 61st Annual North Central College Invitational in Illinois, set to begin at 10 a.m. EST. The other part of the team will head to Rhode Island for the Scott Viera Tournament hosted by Roger Williams, which will begin at 9 a.m.