“They’re going to have to wrestle to get out,” said Sheffield head coach Tom Holden of the Wolverines’ preparedness and mentality heading into the weekend. “They’re wrestling like opponents. They’re all guys that are within they’re capable of beating, but they’re going to have to wrestle. Nobody has an easy road, but all of them have a road and are more than capable of getting there. We haven’t shied away from any competition, but this is when it matters.”

With the No. 6 seed at 127 pounds, Hayden Holden (27-10) will face the winner of Curwensville’s Cooper Haag (7-24) and St. Mary’s Aiden Beimel (37-5) following a first-round bye into the quarterfinals. Beimel placed second last year at 114 pounds, falling to Brockway’s Weston Pisarchick (29-4) who also moved up to the 127-pound weight class. Looking ahead, if Holden can win his first match, Saturday in the semifinals he could see either No. 7 seed Antonio Thorton (21-13) of Brookville or No. 2 seed Elijah Brosius (31-8) of Cranberry. Brosius pinned Holden when the two faced off in mid-January.

Also with the No. 6 seeds are seniors Chase Kyler (23-7) at 133 pounds and Trenton Mead (23-12) at 189 pounds, as well as junior Alex Marfink (17-14) at 145 pounds.

Kyler will step onto the mat in the quarterfinals to face No. 3 seed Colton Ross (24-10) of Brockway or Brody Wehler (8-20) of St. Marys. Kyler is 11-2 over the last month leading up to the district tournament. At the top of the 133-pound bracket sits Central Clarion junior Logan Powell (29-4).

Times Observer file photo Sheffield’s Chase Kyler has his arm raised after a win over his Eisenhower opponent 10 days ago.

Coach Holden and Kyler are confident in his position heading into the tournament, where even if he is subject to a quarterfinal’s loss, he will still get the match-up they want going forward.

“I worked all summer, and at the beginning of the season, I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, but now I’m just kind of like, I didn’t put in all the work just to put too much pressure on myself and crumble,” said Kyler. “I’m just going in and trying to do what I’m good at, which is run the match on my feet. I’m just going in with a clear mind and just trying to get it done.”

Kyler expressed that as the tournament proceeds goals can change, but his main focus is to come out on top.

“I am going to have some tough matches,” Kyler added of his potential matchups throughout the tournament. “I think it will be a good test to see if I can compete with some of these guys. I believe I can do it. I know a lot of people believe I can do it, but I just got to go do it at the end of the day. It’s going to be tough to make it out no matter what, so I’ve just got to put my nose to the grindstone and get it done.”

Mead will take on Port Allegany’s No. 3 seed Juuso Young (22-9) in the quarterfinals for his first match. Familiar foe, No. 4 seed Ben Walter (24-10) could be a possible matchup down the line for Mead. Walter holds a 3-1 record against Mead during the regular season, with Mead’s lone victory coming in late January via pinfall.

“I’m definitely feeling confident,” said Mead. “We’ve been putting in a lot of extra work with our cardio and just technique and we went over some film. I’m definitely excited.”

Alex Marfink (17-14) will take on Curwensville’s Trenton Clyde (3-17) in the preliminary round. At the top of the 145-pound class is two-time District 9 champion Brookville’s Cole Householder (36-3).

At 139 pounds, No. 7 seed, Christian Evans (12-6) will kick off in the quarterfinals against No. 2 seed, Dane Wenner (28-9) of Cranberry. Wenner placed third in both 2022 and 2023 district tournaments.

Additional Wolverines competing are Carter Campbell (18-11) at 152 pounds and Zack Barnes (10-12) at 160. Both will wrestle in the preliminary round against six seeds, with Campbell taking on Bash (24-11) of Brockway and Barnes facing Jace Meyer (15-13) of St. Marys.

“All I care about is that they clean it up, wrestle good solid matches, throw the garbage out and wrestle,” said Holden. “You don’t win every match when you do that, but when you clean it up you have a heck of a lot better chance. You’ve got to stay in good position, get your opponent out of position, and take advantage of it. That’s the key to everything.”