Submitted Photo Sheffield’s Collin Brown, left, A.J. Barnes, center, and Matt Lobdell are shown with the Wolverines’ third-place plaque from the ninth annual Mercer VFW Wrestling Tournament.

By CODY ELMS

editorial@timesobserver.com

MERCER — Sheffield participated at the Mercer VFW Wrestling Tournament over the weekend, taking third place (128.5) out of 14 teams, behind only Sharpsville (195.0) and Clarion (146.0).

A.J. Barnes was Sheffield’s lone champion, taking first place at 121 pounds. Matt Lobdell (189) placed second, while Collin Brown (133) and Chase Kyler (139) both took third.

In Barnes’ first match, he made short work of Grayson Aaron, pinning the Clarion wrestler in 41 seconds. Barnes then went on to face North Star’s Colton Frazier, who came out hot early, but patience and good decision-making allowed Barnes to get the win via pin at 2:42. Barnes took on Sharpsville’s Ethan Springer in the finals, earning the 4-2 decision.

“A.J. tends to be a little over-aggressive at times,” said Sheffield head coach Tom Holden about his first-place winner. “But he wrestled his heart out and came back. Showed a lot of heart, and a lot of determination. In the final match, he wrestled a much better match. He wrestled in control, stayed in a good position, and got his opponent out of position. A.J. did his job.”

Matt Lobdell, who came in as the one seed at 189, was pinned by Sharpsville’s David Moyer at 2:45 in the finals. Earlier in the tournament, Lobdell pinned David Beadnell of Sharon in 3:06 in the championship semifinals.

Collin Brown and Chase Kyler both took championship quarterfinals victories. Brown won by technical fall over Ellwood City’s Gavin McClure, while Kyler made quick work of Austin Mruk of Chartiers-Houston with a pin in 54 seconds. The pair would both get pinned in the championship semifinals; Brown by Sharpsville’s Logan McDonald, and Kyler by Youngsville’s Logan McDonald, who went on to take second place overall. After earning wins in the consolation semifinals, Brown went on to pin Blake Foulk of Cochranton, while Kyler once again faced off with Mruk, winning via decision (12-5).

“Matt wrestled well,” said Holden. “For a second-year wrestler he’s putting it together. I’m proud of where he’s at right now. He surprises some people all the time. He listens well. Follows direction, and for a new kid, that’s key. It’s hard to teach somebody that doesn’t pay attention. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. His biggest attributes are that he learns, pays attention, and does what you show him.”

Wolverines’ Trenton Mead came in fourth at 172, with two decisions, 4-0 over Levi Hoffman (Mercer) in the championship quarterfinals and then later in the consolation semifinals over Braden Plugh (Knoch). Mead was pinned in the championship semifinals between his two decisions by Jessie Orbin (Chartiers-Houson), and fell to John Wright (Coudersport in the third-place match by injury default.

Hayden Holden (127) and Zach Barnes (145) both came in fifth place at the tournament. Holden was able to pin three of his six opponents over the weekend, Calvin Miklos (Chartiers-Houston) in championship round one, Seth Weckerly (Clarion) in consolation round two, and Ebin Everett (Sharon) in consolation round three. Holden fell via pin to Youngsville’s Ian Mancuso in the consolation semifinals, but went on to defeat Brandon Hoover (Cambridge Springs) by decision (7-6) to earn the fifth spot. Zach Barnes pinned Shannon Sikes (Ellwood City) in the young Wolverine’s opening match. Gunnar Gage (Cambridge Springs) would get the best of Barnes in the championship semifinals, and later Aidan Mancuso (Youngsville) defeated Barnes as well, putting the freshman grappler in a fifth-place matchup with Kaden Hoovler of Sharpsville, whom he went on to pin in 1:20. Quincy Boose rounded out the place winners for Sheffield, coming in seventh overall at 215.

“Collin had a tough bracket, and wrestled well,” said Holden. “Hayden and Zach, both freshmen, (have) bright futures.”

The Wolverines will travel to Kane on Wednesday for a much-anticipated match with the Wolves.