NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Vermont State University Castleton wrestling team placed fourth as a team on Sunday at the 2026 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championship. The Spartans have three individuals who qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship.

The three qualifiers will head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 13-14 as both teams and individuals battle for the 2026 NCAA National Championship. Castleton finished fourth with 144.5 team points. Springfield took first with 170.5 points, Williams College claimed second with 155 points, Coast Guard finished third with 152.5 points, and Johnson & Wales rounded out the top five right behind the Spartans with 144 points.

Drew Marchese, Jashon Holmes, and Desmond McLaughlin were the top finishers as individuals, with all three placing second in their respective weight classes, and all three are set to make their first career trips to the NCAA National Championship. Josh Negron and Joseph Baker finished fourth, Nicolas Balella and Nathaniel Camiscioli notched fifth, and Stone Farnsworth and Logan Frank claimed seventh as all nine participants on day two became place-winners.

14th-ranked Marchese was the first Spartan to punch his ticket to the NCAA National Championship at 125 pounds after taking down Charlie Pavis of WPI 8-0 via major decision to claim a spot in the championship bout. There, he met with 15th-ranked Nico Rivera of Johnson & Wales and narrowly lost in a 3-2 decision.

Holmes also took second at 165 pounds for his first career NCAA Championship appearance after taking down Landon Kearns of Coast Guard in his day two opening bout, 3-1 in the tiebreaker. In the championship match, he met with 10th-ranked Jack Richardson of Johnson & Wales, falling 11-2 via major decision.

McLaughlin claimed second at 184 pounds to notch his first-ever NCAA Championships appearance as he opened day two of Regionals with a 4-2 decision win over the third-ranked Myles Leonard of Springfield for the upset. In the championship match, he fell in a 9-2 decision to 10th-ranked Jamie Evarts of Williams College.

Baker claimed fourth at 174 pounds, finishing day two with a 2-1 record. He opened the morning with a pin in 2:30 against Max Bluhm of Western New England before pinning Patrick Wisniewski of Johnson & Wales in 4:56 to make his way to the third-place match. There, he met with third-ranked Jake Deguire of Springfield, falling 7-1 via decision as he closed out his first career NCAA Regionals appearance.

14th-ranked Negron claimed fourth at 197 pounds following a 5-1 decision loss to Nick Rogers of Springfield in the third-place match. He opened day two with a 7-3 decision loss to Gabe Monroe of Coast Guard before bouncing back with a 4-2 decision win over Joe Bernard of WPI to earn his place in the third-place bout.

Balella also appeared at the NCAA Northeast Regionals for the first time ever at 141 pounds, finishing in fifth place. He opened the day with a 4-1 sudden victory win over Malcolm Chrispin of Bridgewater State, before falling 15-0 via technical fall to Ty Trickle of Trinity. He bounced back in the fifth-place match as he pinned Tylor Stubb of Williams College in 6:49 to claim fifth.

13th-ranked Camiscioli notched a fifth-place finish at 157 pounds at this year's Northeast Regionals after going 1-2 on day two. He opened with a 4-0 decision loss to Thomas DiResta of Johnson & Wales and then dropped a narrow 11-10 decision to Ryan Kozdra of Springfield. He claimed fifth with an 11-0 major decision win over Jack Forte of Roger Williams to close out his senior season.

Farnsworth placed seventh at 133 pounds in his first-ever NCAA Regionals appearance as he opened day two with an 11-4 decision loss to Ethan Buonanducci of Bridgewater State before taking down Zachary Brzoska of Emmanuel in the seventh-place match with a 20-5 technical fall win.

At 285 pounds, Frank claimed seventh place, marking his first-ever NCAA Regionals appearance. Opening day two with a tight 6-5 decision loss to Emre Sensoy of Trinity, he bounced back with a 9-7 decision victory over Connor Reynolds of Williams College for a place on the podium.