PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Castleton University wrestling team took to the Wildcat Open on Saturday at Johnson & Wales University, placing eight wrestlers in the top-six of their respective weight classes, including five in the top-three.
 
Elijah Cyr and Abbas Abdulrahman were the Spartans' top finishers, placing second at 141 pounds and 285 pounds, respectively. Cyr posted a 3-1 record at the event, winning via technical fall in his first bout before claiming back-to-back decision wins to earn a spot in the title bout. He came up just short in the final matchup, dropping a 3-2 decision to finish second. Adbulrahman was a wrecking ball in his first three bouts, earning two pins to open the day before racking up 20 points in a 20-14 decision victory in the semifinals. He came up short via 20-8 major decision in the championship to finish in second at the heavyweight division.
 
Castleton had three third-place finishers in Alec Richards at 184 pounds, Haven Tatarek at 197 pounds and Oliver Donahue at 285 pounds. Richards went 4-1 overall, opening with a 12-4 major decision before winning via fall in 6:43. After dropping a 1-0 decision to land in the consolation bracket, Richards picked up another pin in 4:06 to advance to the third-place bout. He came out on top, 15-6, in a major decision to land in third on the podium. Tatarek was also 4-1 overall, winning his opener via fall in 4:29 before picking up an 8-4 decision in the second round. He dropped a tough 5-3 decision in his third bout, but bounced back with a 3-2 decision in the consolation semifinals to land in the third-place match where he won with a first-period pin in 2:52. Donahue racked up a team-high five wins with a 5-1 mark, winning his first bout 3-1 before being blanked 16-0 in the second round at 285. He rebounded with three straight wins via pin, the fastest of which came in just 2:00. In the third-place bout, he came out on top when his opponent withdrew in the first period due to injury.
 
Kaya Bogle nabbed a fourth-place finish at 125, losing his first bout before wrestling all the way back to the third-place match. After his opening-round loss, Bogle rattled off two decision wins and a win via forfeit before being pinned in the third-place bout. Evan Kinney was fifth at 125 pounds, falling in his opener before winning two straight bouts to land in the consolation semifinals. After a loss via pin, he took home fifth place via forfeit in the fifth-place bout. Nikko Walsh was also a fifth-place finisher for Castleton, winning his first three matches at 157 pounds. The first two wins came via second-period pins before he logged a 6-4 decision win. After a 13-4 loss and a loss via pin, he claimed the fifth-place match via forfeit to end the afternoon.
 
Castleton wrestles at the NEWA Duals on Sunday hosted by Johnson & Wales in Providence, R.I. The Spartans open the day as the No. 3 seed against 14th-seeded WPI.