NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Vermont State University Castleton wrestling team got off to a strong start at the 2026 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championship on Saturday, with nine wrestlers advancing to the second day of competition, and five wrestlers still in contention on the championship side of the bracket.

Through the conclusion of Saturday, the Spartans sit in third place with 96 team points. Springfield leads the field with 104.5 team points, followed by Williams in second with 98. Coast Guard trails the Spartans in fourth with 93 points, and Johnson & Wales rounds out the top five with 91 points.

14th-ranked Drew Marchese is set for the semifinals at 125 pounds following an opening round win via forfeit, and a dominant 16-1 technical fall win over Alexander Schaeublin of Trinity. He is set to face Charlie Pavis of WPI on Sunday morning.

13th-ranked Nathaniel Camiscioli is also moving on to the semifinals at 157 pounds, following two dominant wins on day one. In his opening match, he pinned Ethan Martel of Emmanuel College in 38 seconds, which he followed up with a 14-3 major decision over Gannon White of Norwich. Camiscioli is set to meet with Thomas DiResta of Johnson & Wales tomorrow morning.

Jashon Holmes moves on to the semifinals tomorrow morning at 165 pounds following a pin in his opening bout over Domini Demaio of New England College in 1:31, and a tight 7-6 decision over Teghan McConnell of Western New England. He is set to face Landon Kearns of Coast Guard on Sunday morning.

Desmond McLaughlin opened his appearance, pinning Joseph Menkello of Norwich in 1:43 and earning a 7-4 win in the tiebreaker over Zachary Miller of Johnson & Wales at 184 pounds. The senior moves on to tomorrow's semifinals, set to face Myles Leonard of Springfield.

At 197 pounds, Josh Negron is moving on to tomorrow, opening his day with a pin in 42 seconds over Aidan Riordan of Emmanuel College before pinning Charles Maloy of Western New England in 2:12. Negron is set for Sunday's semifinals against Gabe Monroe of Coast Guard.

Stone Farnsworth finished 3-1 on the day after falling 17-2 via technical fall in his opening match to Esuar Ordonez of Springfield to move him to the consolation side of the bracket at 133 pounds. He then pinned Rian Kirker of Utica in 3:55, took down Caden Bruseo of Roger Williams in a 15-4 major decision, and closed out day one with a 3-1 decision over Ryan O'Rourke of Johnson & Wales. He is set to face Ethan Buonanducci of Bridgewater State in the consolation round five tomorrow morning.

Nicolas Balella finished 3-1 at 141 pounds at the conclusion of day one. He began with a 7-4 decision over Jake Eckerle of Johnson & Wales, which he followed up with a 19-3 technical fall over John Allmers of Plymouth State. He fell via pin to Isaac Quiles of Springfield, which pushed him to the consolation side of the bracket, but bounced back with an 11-3 major decision victory over Austin Monteiro of Western New England. He will face Malcolm Chrispin of Bridgewater State in the consolation round five on Sunday morning.

At 174 pounds, Joseph Baker fell to the consolation side of the bracket following two pins to start his day, with the fastest coming in 41 seconds, before falling to 15th-ranked Aidan Faria of Rhode Island College in a 5-1 decision. He followed that up with a 19-4 technical fall victory over James Calabrese of Bridgewater State and is set to see Max Bluhm of Western New England in consolation round five tomorrow.

Logan Frank is the final Spartan moving on to tomorrow after an opening bout against Trevor Bowen of WPI at 285 pounds, pinning him in 3:46. He then lost 7-4 in sudden victory to Rory Nolan of Norwich as he was moved to the consolation side of the bracket, where he bounced back with a 4-0 decision over Michael DiOrio. Sunday morning, he will face Emre Sensoy of Trinity in the consolation round five.

Dylan Vanegas opened the day with a 9-7 decision over Shane Moore of Southern Maine before falling in a 10-4 decision to Gavin Ripley of Maine Maritime as he fell to the consolation side of the bracket at 149 pounds. He bounced back with a 2-0 decision over Saliou Jobe of Rhode Island College before falling in sudden victory to Matt Castillo of Roger Williams as his appearance at Regionals came to a close.

The nine Spartans in action tomorrow (March 1) will begin at 10 a.m. as the consolation rounds continue and the semifinals on the championship side of the brackets get underway.