BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Wrestling team placed ten wrestlers in the top-four at the 8^th Annual Scott Viera Invitational on Saturday at the Campus Recreation Center. As both competitors and hosts of the tournament, the Hawks put five different individuals in the finals including Kyle Kaiser (Paramus, N.J.) and Travis Arata (Riverdale, N.J.) who took first at the 133- and 197-pound weight classes respectively.
 
Seven schools and several other unattached participants were in attendance, but no team scores were kept at the event, however, the ten different wresters finishing in the top-four for RWU was the most of any team on the day, edging out Johnson & Wales who had nine. Additionally, Roger Williams was tied for the tournament lead with their two first-place and three second-place finishers.
 
A testament to the teams' overall depth, RWU had multiple wrestlers place in three of the ten weight classes, at 125, 174, and 197.
 
Kaiser had a stellar tournament for the Hawks, going 3-0 by collecting wins by tech fall, and pin before rolling to a 12-1 win by major decision over John Lafferty (Woburn, Mass.), an unattached wrestler from Sacred Heart.
 
Roger Williams put three in the top-four at 197, led by Arata. After a first-round bye and a win by pin in the quarterfinals, he then took down a pair of teammates to win the bracket, getting past Justin Vega (East Northport, N.Y.) by major decision, 10-2 in the semis. He then encountered Spencer Fetrow (Holliston, Mass.) in the finals in one of the best matches of the day. Fetrow held a two-point edge into the final seconds of the match, but Arata was able to finish a takedown just before time expired and then claimed the win in overtime. Meanwhile, Vega would end up taking fourth in the bracket after getting pinned by JWU's Vincent Ceglie (Lacy, N.J.) in the consolation finals.
 
The Hawks grabbed second and third at 125. Connor Keegan (Sandwich, Mass.) claimed victories by decision and a disqualification for misconduct but ultimately fell to Wilson Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde) from Bridgewater State, 6-3 in the finals. Meanwhile, Ben Dubois (Rehoboth, Mass.) finished right behind him by taking care of Jacob Venezia (Pennington, N.J.), an unattached wrestler from Sacred Heart, 7-4 in the consolation finals.
 
RWU also had a pair of wresters place at 174 as Leonard Breit (Johnson, R.I.) and Luke Wassel (Walpole, Mass.) encountered each other in the consolation finals but Wassel could not compete due to a medical forfeit by having too many matches on the day.
 
Jack Kelly (Sea Girt, N.J.) had his best showing of the season finishing as the runner-up at 165. He opened his day with a pair of pins before advancing to the finals by beating his teammate, Dante Simeti (Pearl River, N.Y.), 7-1. There he would get pinned by Ryan Bolletino (Haddonfield, N.J.), an unattached wrestler from Sacred Heart.
 
Armani Dotson (Mattapan, Mass.) rounded out the Hawks' placers by taking fourth in the 184-pound weight class. He took the loss in his first match of the day but followed that up with a strong run through the consolation bracket picking up a pair of wins before dropping the consolation finals match by way of a pin at the hands of John Summers (Fairfield, Conn.) from Springfield College.
 
Alum Kyle Foster '17 (Somers, Conn.) also returned to Bristol to compete in the heavyweight class where he took first picking up wins by pin and major decision before turning and pinning Cameron Bailey (Coventry, R.I.) from JWU in finals.
 
Placings
125
2^nd- Connor Keegan (RWU) defeated by Wilson Gomes (BSU) in finals by decision, 6-3
3^rd- Ben Dubois (RWU) defeated Jacob Venezia (U-SHU) in consolation finals by decision, 7-4
 
133
1^st- Kyle Kaiser (RWU) defeats John Lafferty (U-SHU) in finals by major decision, 12-1
 
165
2^nd- Jack Kelly (RWU) defeated by Ryan Dolletino (U-SHU) in finals, with first-period pin at 0:40
 
174
3^rd- Luke Wassel (RWU) defeats Leonard Breit (RWU) in consolation finals by medical forfeit
4^th- Leonard Breit (RWU) defeated by Luke Wassel (RWU) in consolation finals by medical forfeit
 
184
4^th- Armani Dotson (RWU) defeated by John Summers (SC) in consolation finals with first-period pin at 1:57
 
197
1^st - Travis Arata (RWU) defeats Spencer Fetrow (RWU) in consolation finals by decision, 8-6 in OT
2^nd - Spencer Fetrow (RWU) defeated by Travis Arata (RWU) in consolation finals by decision, 8-6 in OT
4^th - Justin Vega (RWU) defeated by Vincent Ceglie (JWU) in consolation finals with third-period pin at 6:04
 
285
1^st- Kyle Foster '17 (RWU-Alumni) defeats Cameron Bailey (JWU) with first-period pin at 1:39
 
What's Next
The Hawks do not return to the mat until the calendar turns to 2022 when they will compete at the Williams Invitational on January 8^th.