MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Vermont State University Castleton wrestling team notched a new program record on Sunday at the 2025 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championships, placing third as a team and qualifying a program-best eight individuals for the NCAA Division III National Championship.
 
The eight qualifiers will head to Providence, Rhode Island on March 14-15 as both teams and individuals battle for the 2025 NCAA National Championship. Castleton finished with 151.5 team points to finish third as a group, trailing Coast Guard with 155 in second, and Johnson & Wales in first with 192.5 points.
 
James Rodriguez, Nathaniel Camiscioli, Sampson Wilkins, and Evan Day were the top finishers as individuals, all claiming second place in their respective weight classes, while Gavin Bradley, Elijah Cyr, Connor Gregory, and Haven Tatarek notched third.
 
Rodriguez heads to the NCAA National Championships for the fourth year in a row, taking second at 141 pounds. Bradley and Wilkins return to the championships for their third year in a row and 125 and 184 pounds respectively, and Camiscioli returns for his second appearance. Day, Cyr, Gregory, and Tatarek are all set to make their NCAA National Championship debuts.
 
Rodriguez's fourth straight trip to the National Championship saw him open the day with a win over Hayden Myers of Wesleyan in the semifinals at 141 pounds, 4-1 by decision to secure his way into the first-place match. There Rodriguez faced 10th-ranked Jake Eckerle of Johnson & Wales, falling in a close 4-3 loss via decision to claim second place.
 
At 157 pounds, Camiscioli earned a 6-1 win by decision over Zach Soda of New England College, to move on to the first-place match. He faced the second-ranked Peter Kane of Williams College, who he saw just two weeks ago, but fell 8-0 via major decision to earn a second-place finish.
 
Wilkins started his day in the 184 pound semifinal match up, facing Tyler Miller of Plymouth State, taking him down 6-2 via decision to move on to the championship match. Set to face Jamie Evarts of Williams College, Wilkins fell in a tight 8-6 loss by decision to claim second.
 
Day secured his first National Championship appearance at 285 pounds, with a semifinal win over 15th-ranked Adolfo Betancur of Johnson & Wales, taking him down 7-0 to move on. In the first-place match, he faced seventh-ranked Carl DiGiorgio of Coast Guard, falling in a close match via decision, 8-6.
 
At 125, Bradley dropped a 7-3 decision to Jake Craig of Southern Maine in the semifinals but bounced back in the consolation semifinals with an 18-0 win by tech fall over Chris Tringali of Roger Williams to earn a spot in the third-place match. In his final match of the day, Bradley took down Nikko Beato of Coast Guard, 10-3 by decision to clinch third place and another trip to the National Championship.
 
Cyr fell in his opening semifinal match of the day at 149 pounds to Colby Frost of Southern Maine, the top-ranked wrestler nationally, 11-3, but was able to bounce back in his consolation semifinal match with a 13-4 win by major decision to make his way to the third-place match. He faced Caleb Seyfried for the second day in a row from Williams College, taking him down 4-2 to make his way to his first-ever National Championship appearance.
 
At 174 pounds, Gregory opened the day with a tight loss in the semifinal match to Nick Rogers of Springfield, 5-4. He came back strong in his consolation semifinal match over Michael Hopkins, with a 5-0 victory to earn his spot in the third-place match. He was successful in his final match of the day, earning a 7-3 win over Caden Stout of Coast Guard.
 
Tatarek rounds out the Spartans national qualifiers, falling in the 197 pound semifinal match up via pin. Tatarek bounced back in the consolation semifinal bout, taking down Kenneth Marra of Coast Guard 11-3 to move on. He sealed his spot at nationals with a win via sudden victory to clinch third place.
 
Drew Marchese landed a fifth-place finish, falling in his semifinal match at 133 pounds via tech fall, and in the consolation semifinal, 8-6. He was set for the fifth-place match, facing Max Martinez of Wesleyan for the second day in a row, beating him 12-0. Jashon Holmes notched seventh at 165 pounds, completing regionals as a place-winner, with a 19-1 victory in his last match of the day.