Men's Wrestling: Cadets welcome Castleton for annual Battle for the Green Mountain Championship

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Junior Rory Nolan (Wadsworth, Ohio) sent the home crowd out on a high note Thursday evening, capturing the final varsity bout of the night as the Norwich University men's wrestling team welcomed intrastate rival Vermont State University Castleton to Plumley Armory for the annual Battle for the Green Mountain Championship.

Castleton claimed the team victory, 41-3, behind wins in the first nine varsity weight classes, but Nolan denied the Spartans a sweep with an 8-2 decision over Keonta Crawford at 285 pounds.

The victory continued a strong opening week for Nolan, who entered Thursday coming off a fifth-place performance at the two-day Ithaca Invitational.

Before the varsity dual began, the programs opened the evening with 11 exhibition bouts, giving several Cadets additional opportunities on the mat.

Freshman Jay Campbell (Mount Laurel, N.J.) supplied Norwich's first win of the evening at 141 pounds, pinning Trey Lee in 3:45.

Senior Jonathan Neypes (Columbia, Md.) added another Norwich victory at 174, earning a 14-8 decision over Braeden Gray.

Sophomore Dante Bilskis (Guilford, Conn.), freshman Michael Barry (Wakefield, Mass.), sophomore Reese Bunney (East Nassau, N.Y.), freshman Nicholas Cilento (Clark, N.J.), sophomore Caden Geanetta (Arvada, Colo.), sophomore Jeffrey Bernardi (Bethlehem, Conn.), freshman Alimzhan Aitimov (Uralsk, Kazakhstan), and junior Kade Crawford (Euless, Texas) also saw exhibition action for the Cadets.

Once the varsity portion began, junior Ben Fournier (Hebron, Conn.) opened with one of Norwich's most competitive bouts at 125 pounds.

Fournier battled Gavin Bradley through the full match before Bradley emerged with a 12-8 decision, handing Castleton an early 3-0 advantage.

The Spartans extended their lead at 133 when Stone Farnsworth earned a fall over junior Robby Lyons (Milford, Mass.) in 2:04.

Junior Aidan Morgan (Wellington, Fla.) followed at 141, while junior William Burke (Palmer, Mass.) represented the Cadets at 149.

Freshman James Lally (North Andover, Mass.) then gave Norwich another close battle at 157 pounds, going the distance with Dominick Lapier before falling by a narrow 6-3 decision.

Castleton followed with victories at 165 and 174 against freshman Jeremiah Johnson (Cary, N.C.) and freshman Jordon Sonon-Hale (Mascoutah, Ill.), respectively.

Sophomore Joseph Menkello (Burlington, Mass.) took the mat for Norwich at 184, while freshman Ethan Patch (Middletown Springs, Vt.) competed at 197.

Patch went the distance with Logan Frank, with the Castleton wrestler ultimately earning an 11-2 major decision to give the Spartans a 41-0 advantage entering the final bout.

Nolan made sure Norwich would finish the rivalry dual on its own terms.

Facing Crawford at heavyweight, Nolan worked his way to an 8-2 decision, securing Norwich's lone varsity victory and putting the final three points on the scoreboard.

The win marked Nolan's sixth contested victory through Norwich's first two competitions of the season after the junior went 5-1 in contested bouts en route to fifth place at the Ithaca Invitational.

VARSITY RESULTS:

125: Gavin Bradley (VTSU Castleton) def. Ben Fournier, decision, 12-8
133: Stone Farnsworth (VTSU Castleton) def. Robby Lyons, fall, 2:04
141: Aidan Shufelt (VTSU Castleton) def. Aidan Morgan, technical fall, 20-3 (1:02)
149: Dylan Vanegas (VTSU Castleton) def. William Burke, major decision, 15-1
157: Dominick Lapier (VTSU Castleton) def. James Lally, decision, 6-3
165: Colby Celuck (VTSU Castleton) def. Jeremiah Johnson, fall, 3:52
174: Connor Gregory (VTSU Castleton) def. Jordon Sonon-Hale, technical fall, 19-0 (5:49)
184: Joseph Baker (VTSU Castleton) def. Joseph Menkello, technical fall, 22-5 (1:15)
197: Logan Frank (VTSU Castleton) def. Ethan Patch, major decision, 11-2
285: Rory Nolan def. Keonta Crawford (VTSU Castleton), decision, 8-2

EXHIBITION RESULTS:

133: Cahota LaFond (VTSU Castleton) def. Dante Bilskis, fall, 3:42
141: Duncan Harrington (VTSU Castleton) def. Michael Barry, technical fall, 20-2 (2:32)
141: Jay Campbell def. Trey Lee (VTSU Castleton), fall, 3:45
141: Jack Voute (VTSU Castleton) def. Britton Marshall, major decision, 12-1
157: Ryan Ball (VTSU Castleton) def. Reese Bunney, technical fall, 18-0 (0:00)
157: Braylon Gonzalez (VTSU Castleton) def. Nicholas Cilento, fall, 3:54
157: Zachary Olden (VTSU Castleton) def. Caden Geanetta, fall, 1:06
165: Isaiah Grant (VTSU Castleton) def. Jeffrey Bernardi, fall, 2:43
165: Josue Lamb-Alvarado (VTSU Castleton) def. Alimzhan Aitimov, technical fall, 17-0 (1:00)
174: Jonathan Neypes def. Braeden Gray (VTSU Castleton), decision, 14-8
285: Evan Gillespie (VTSU Castleton) def. Kade Crawford, technical fall, 19-4 (3:04)

Norwich will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, traveling to Springfield, Mass., for a tri-match hosted by Springfield College. The Cadets will face the host Pride and New England College during the afternoon competition.

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