BRISTOL, R.I. – Behind first-place finishes from senior Jack Richardson (165 lbs.) and junior Peyton Ellis (133 lbs.), the JWU (Providence) wrestling team placed second at the Roger Williams Invitational on Saturday afternoon at the RWU Field House.
 
The Wildcats tallied 153.5 points behind 14 top six finishers: two individual champions, two second-place finishers, three third-place finishers, one in both fourth and fifth-place, and five in sixth-place.
 
Richardson was 4-0 on the day, defeating Justin Batty (Southern Maine) in an 8-0 major decision and Kyle Amirault (Roger Williams) in a 3-0 decision, in the first two rounds before ultimately winning the final in convincing fashion (9-1) over Landon Kearns (Coast Guard).
 
Ellis, meanwhile, won in a similarly dominant fashion with two wins in less than 30 seconds, first over Griffin Norwalt (VTSU Castleton) in just 28 seconds, followed by an even quicker win (21 seconds) over Cahota LaFond (VTSU Castleton).
 
Senior Michael Schliem (197 lbs.) and sophomore Wyatt Brock (141 lbs.) both finished as runners-up. Schliem easily won his first three matches before narrowly falling in the final to Christian Curley (Bridgewater St.) in an 11-8 decision. Similarly, Brock won four-straight matches until falling in the final to Adidan Shufelt (VTSU Castleton), 11-1.
 
Freshman Jack Lorper (133 lbs.) finished third. After falling in the semifinal, 8-7, to Ethan Buonanducci (Bridgewater St.), Loper won the third-place match 20-5 over Cahota LaFond (VTSU Castleton). Senior Cameron Soda (149 lbs.) also fell in the semifinal after winning his first two matches of the day; he closed his night on top with a 17-2 victory.
 
Freshman Matthew Pappas (174 lbs.) was the third Wildcat to place third. Pappas was dominant early, winning in back-to-back technical falls, 15-0 against Jonathan Fabrizion (Roger Williams) and 17-0 over Rinaldo DiGiacopo (Wesleyan (CT)).
 
Junior Tyler Colclough was 2-2 on the day to take fourth at 285 lbs. Sophomore Jahir Aguilar competed in six separate matches, finishing with a 5-1 record to ultimately earn the fifth-place spot in the 141-lb. bracket.
 
Freshman August Katz (157 lbs.), sophomore Eliezer Sanchez (141 lbs.), freshman James Rocco (165 lbs.), junior Jeremiah Rhames (184 lbs.), and junior Matthew Frueh (125), all placed sixth in their respective weight classes helping the Wildcats secure second place in the team competition.
 
VTSU Castleton was the winner of the weekend (169.5), followed by JWU, Coast Guard (99), Roger Williams (98), Wesleyan (CT) (97), Southern Me. (81), Bridgewater St. (60), Bridgeport (38.5), Plymouth St. (7.5), and Maine Maritime Academy (5.5).