Vermont State Castleton Takes Second at Ithaca Invitational

Vermont State Castleton Takes Second at Ithaca Invitational

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The Vermont State University Castleton wrestling team finished second at the Ithaca Invitational on Saturday, accumulating 156 points to cap off a competitive day in New York.

Johnson and Wales (Providence) claimed first place at the tournament with 184.5 points, while the host Bombers finished third with 154.5 points behind the Spartans.

Joseph Baker (Danvers, Mass./Beverly) secured the lone individual title for Castleton by winning the 184-weight class. Baker advanced through his quarterfinal match by fall before earning a 7-2 decision over Emmanuel’s Luke Driscoll in the semifinal. He then captured the championship with a 4-1 decision against the Wildcats’ Zachary Miller.

Two other Castleton wrestlers reached the tournament finals to finish in second place.

Taking second at 125 was Gavin Bradley (Sayre, Pa./Athens), who paced the squad by accumulating 21 points. Bradley defeated Lycoming’s Aristotclis Bobotas in the quarterfinals and posted a 5-0 decision against Ithaca’s Tomah Gummow in the semifinal, before dropping the championship match by decision to Johnson and Wales’ Nico Rivera.

Dom LaPier (Keeseville, N.Y./Ausable Valley Central) added a 10-7 decision in the 157 quarterfinal and followed it with a 12-2 major decision in the semifinal. LaPier secured second place after a hard-fought 14-10 decision loss to the Bombers’ Akio Sander in the title bout.

Several Spartans placed further down the podium across multiple weight classes. Stone Farnsworth (Hope, R.I./Coventry) took third place at 133-weight class following a 6-3 decision over Johnson and Wales’ Jack Lorper. Dylan Vanegas (Lisbon, Conn./Norwich Free Academy) also finished third at 149 by securing a 5-1 decision against Ithaca’s Philly Provenzano. Jonathan Moraes (Melrose, Mass./Melrose HS) placed fourth in the 125-weight class after an 18-11 decision over Jaron Barrientos in the championship quarterfinals.

Connor Gregory (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballsston Spa) contributed 17 points—the fourth-most on the team—to finish fifth in the 174-weight class. Gregory picked up a pair of tech falls and an 8-0 major decision in the fifth-place match against Norwich’s Jordan Sonon-Hale. Earning fifth place in the 141-weight class, Aidan Shufelt (Groton, N.Y./Groton) triumphed through a trio of major decisions by topping Cortland’s Rocco Futia 17-4, Ithaca’s George McAteer 14-5, and Johnson and Wales’ Nicholas Torres 15-6. Colby Celuck (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton) rounded out the top Spartan placers by taking fifth in the 165-weight class with a 4-2 decision over Carter Davis in the fifth-place match.

The Spartans travel to Norwich University on Thursday for a dual match. Start time is at 7:00 p.m.

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