WICHITA, Kan. Western Colorado's Riley Butt captured the 285-pound bracket title Sunday at the Jet Open, hosted by Newman (Kan.) University, leading several Mountaineers to podium finishes.

Seeded fifth in the heavyweight bracket, Butt initially advanced with a second period 19-4 technical fall, followed by 7-6 decision in the quarterfinals over the fourth seed.

He earned a 7-3 semifinal decision to advance to the championship bout against No. 7 seed Paul Sharp of Central Oklahoma (UCO). After a scoreless opening period, Butt went ahead 4-1 on an escape and takedown in the second period, surrendering only a Sharp escape in the third period to close out the title match.

Wrestling into a championship bout and ultimately finishing second in his bracket was Zachary Bates. He rolled through his early matches in the 133 bracket with a 15-0 tech fall, a quarterfinal pin in just 68 seconds, and a 15-0 tech fall over the top seed in the semifinal. His climb up the podium was halted in the final with a loss to Easton Taylor of UCO.

Western added a fourth-place finish by Jacob Blandford at 165 to earn the Mountaineers a total of three podium finishers.

Among other highlights of the Open for Western were Erik Anderson's consolation round pin in just seven seconds in the 174 bracket, and Dante Pallone's advancement into the semifinal round of the 197 bracket.

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The Mountaineers will host the Western Colorado Open on Fri., Jan. 9 followed by the 35th Annual Tracy Borah Duals the next day, both events taking place in the Mountaineer Field House.