The Castleton University winter athletic programs gathered at the Casella Theater on Monday night to celebrate the accomplishments of the student-athletes.
The men's Nordic skiing program was awarded the President's Cup for Academic Excellence by President Tom Mauhs-Pugh. The award is given each season to the team with the highest cumulative grade point average. The team posted a GPA of 3.64. Eight out of Castleton's 11 winter programs posted team GPAs above a 3.0.
The women's basketball program reached the Little East Conference postseason for the third time in as many seasons in the league this year, finishing the regular season 12-13 overall and 5-10 in league play. The team had an impressive stretch in early February, winning three games by 20-plus points in a four-game stretch, including a pair of 30-point wins over Plymouth State in that span. Team MVP Kelly Vuz was a steady contributor all season, reaching double figures scoring in 20 of the team's 25 games on the season. The LEC Player of the Week in early January, she finished the year averaging 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, enough to land Second Team All-LEC accolades.
The men's basketball team finished the year with a 5-21 record but got off to a blazing start in 2021 with a double-digit win in the season opener before scoring 109 points in their win over SUNY Cobleskill in Glenbrook Gym in November. Team MVP Oluwadare Sowunmi had a career-high 22 points against Rhode Island College in January after grabbing a season-high 11 boards against the Anchormen in December. He appeared in all 26 games for the Spartans, averaging 7.2 points and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds per game.
The women's hockey team had an unforgettable 2021-22 season in the New England Hockey Conference, posting a 15-10-2 overall record — their highest win total since 2015-16 — with an 11-6-1 record in NEHC play. Winners of six of their final seven regular-season games, the Spartans earned a five-seed in the NEHC tournament, upsetting four-seed UMass Boston and two-seed Norwich to advance to the NEHC Finals for the first time since 2018-19, where they fell to Elmira. Team MVP Courtney Gauthier racked up a team-best 22 points on the season, leading the team in goals (11) and finishing third on the team in assists (11), earning her a spot on the All-Conference Third Team.
The men's hockey program finished the season with a 5-19-2 record and was crowned champion of the 2021 Terry Moran Invitational Tournament in November after going 2-0 at the annual tournament at Spartan Arena. Team MVP Kyle Alaverdy racked up more than 500 saves in his senior season and became the fifth goalie in program history to record over 1,000 career saves. He had 30-plus saves in 10 games this season, including a career-high 58 stops in a tight contest at Skidmore in December.
The women's alpine program continued its run of dominance over MacConnell Division teams in 2022, winning all 10 regular-season races before sweeping first place at the USCSA Eastern Regional Championships as well. The Spartan women notched a third-place finish overall at the USCSA National Championships, placing fourth in the giant slalom and third in the slalom. Team MVP Karoline Rettenbacher was 3-for-3 in All-America honors at the USCSA National Championships, running her career total to nine All-America awards. The senior won two races on the season—including the Regional slalom title—and finished top-5 in 11 races on the season with seven podium finishes.
The men's alpine skiing team raced to victory frequently this season, winning 6-of-10 regular-season races while claiming the USCSA Eastern Regional Championships in slalom and overall disciplines. The Spartan men finished in a three-way tie for fourth place at the USCSA National Championships after fifth-place finishes in both the slalom and giant slalom. Team MVP Lorenzo Mencaccini was dominant all season, winning nine consecutive races—the last of which was the Eastern Regional slalom title. He finished top-5 in all regular-season races and finished in the top-5 in both the slalom and giant slalom at the USCSA National Championships, highlighted by a silver-medal finish in the slalom at the event. He cleaned up to the tune of three All-America accolades at the event.
The women's nordic team took part in 16 competitions in 2022, serving as host for the annual Castleton Invitational in January. Emily Greene and Annika Saunus both earned several impressive finishes in the year, highlighted by a national title by Saunus in the Classic Sprint — becoming just the second women's nordic skier to achieve the feat. Greene, the team MVP, was reliable for the Spartans all season, earning nine top-five finishes. Her season was highlighted by a top overall finish in the Mansfield Divisional Championships 15K.
The men's nordic team competed in 16 events during the 2022 season, hosting one weekend of races. Team MVP Andrew Doherty logged 13 top-eight finishes on the year, highlighted by top overall finishes in the Spike Clayton Memorial Invite 10k and Mixed Relay. Capitalizing off two top-5 placements, Doherty also earned a fifth-place individual finish at the USCSA National Championships, including crossing the line in fourth place in the 15K with a time of 44:06.3.
The wrestling program continued to raise the bar in 2021-22, spending much of the season nationally ranked while racking up a 15-2 record in dual meet action. The Spartans' only two losses came to nationally-ranked Johnson & Wales, and to an Ohio Northern team that joined the national ranks a week later. As a team, Castleton won a pair of tournaments—the Penn Tech Wildcat Invitational, as well as the NEWA Futures Tournament before sending a pair of wrestlers to the NCAA National Championships. Head coach Scott Legacy was named the NWCA Regional Coach of the Year following the Spartans' highly-successful season. Team MVP James Rodriguez became Castleton's first All-American, finishing eighth at the NCAA National Championships. The sophomore racked up a 39-15 record on the season, going 12-5 in dual meets and winning via pin seven times—the fastest of which came in just 41 seconds.