HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – Six top-four finishes, including a second-place finish from senior Kevin Mulligan, highlighted a strong showing by the Centenary University wrestling team at the 11^th annual Bob Quade Cyclone Open.

Quade was the first ever wrestling coach at Centenary and huge supporter of all Centenary athletic teams.

Mulligan finished second at 285-pounds after going 4-1 on the day. He started his day with a fall in 1:46 versus Rey Miller of Montclair. He followed that up with a tech fall over Taylan Zafis of Sussex Community College. Mulligan recorded his second fall of the day, this time over Kyle Nothnagel. Mulligan advanced to the championship bout with a fall in 1:45 over Dustin Swanson of Kutztown. Mulligan fell in the championship bout to Andrew Dunn of Kutztown, 7-2 in a hard-fought battle. Dunn was the Division II National Champion in 2019.

Sophomore Xavier Pena secured a third-place finish at 141-pounds after posting a 4-1 mark on the day. Pena started his day with a tech fall versus Zach Lewis of East Stroudsburg. He followed that up with a major decision win, 12-0 over Michael Sanfilippo of NYU. Pena suffered a tough loss by a 12-8 decision to Cole Wyman of Army West Point. Pena bounced back to record a 10-7 win by decision against Ryan Franco of Army Prep. In the third-place bout, he needed just 39 seconds to record the fall over Brian Lombardi of East Stroudsburg.

Sophomore TJ Pawlicki went 3-1 on the day and picked up a third-place finish at 165-pounds. He started his day with a win by fall while taking on Alex Kelly of Temple. Pawlicki was then tripped up by Marcus Murribito of Greens Farms Academy. He bounced back with a major decision win over Sergio Cespedes of East Stroudsburg. Pawlicki wrapped up third place with a win by fall over Brett Miller of Middlesex.

Senior Haakon Mathewson finished third at 174-pounds after going 3-1 on the day. Mathewson launched his day with a major decision win over Ikeeena Unachukwv of Union Community College. He was then tripped up by Nathaniel Fossett of Kutztown. Mathewson rebounded with a 13-8 decision over teammate Aidan Fernandez. In the third-place bout, he recorded a fall in 4:02 over Noah Ramadan of Montclair.

Senior Jacy Jones posted a fourth-place finish at 133-pounds after battling his way back through the consolation bracket and posting a 4-2 mark on the day. After falling in his first match of the day, Jones rattled off four straight wins. The senior got a win by fall over Chris Folkens of Middlesex in 59 seconds. He followed that up with two more wins by fall over Lian Khal of UMBC (2:44) and Andrew Cota of Hunter (4:58). He added a win by decision versus Daniel Uhorchuk of Army West Point. Jones fell in a hard-fought sudden victory decision Nain Vazquez of Army Prep in the third-place bout.

Senior Justin Hopman continued his strong showing with a fourth-place finish at 184-pounds. Hopman was 3-2 on the day for the Cyclones. He started his day with a pair of wins by fall over John Burnett of Temple (4:51) and James Holder of Kutztown (6:34). Hopman was then tripped up by Danny Lawrence of Army West Point. He bounced back with a win by decision over Nick Jairdullo of Middlesex. Facing Holder for the second time that day in the third-place bout, Hopman fell by major decision.

The Cyclones are off until Jan. 6 and 7 when they travel to take part in the prestigious NWCA National Duals in Kentucky.