Pictured, from left, are: Sheffield wrestlers Christian Evans, Tom Holden, Chase Kyler, Hayden Holden and Cooper Traister. Submitted photo

BRADFORD — The Sheffield Wolverines took home three first-place medals, two thirds and three fourths at the Allegheny Mountain League Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Bradford High School.

Hayden Holden pinned (3:59) Mitchell Brinsky (Bradford) in the first round of the 127-pound weight class to move on to face Isaac Postlewait (Port Allegany) where the Wolverine sophomore defeated the Gator freshman 5-0 for first place.

Holden was familiar going into the tournament with the competitors he would face and was prepared for the challenges they would present.

“I had already met up with a few of the people that were in my bracket and knew how they would approach the match, which gave me an advantage,” said Holden. “In the finals, I wrestled a respectable match with Postlewait of Port Allegany. I have wrestled him for many years coming all the way up from elementary wrestling, through junior high, and now varsity. He’s always been a tricky one to figure out but with my knowledge of the sport and knowledge of past opponents I’m able to study people to help me succeed in my matches.”

Both senior Chase Kyler and junior Bryden Letendre competed at 133 pounds. Kyler earned a 19-4 technical-fall victory over Mason Avenali (Kane), whom the Wolverine pinned just two days earlier in a dual meet with the Wolves. Latendre got a quick pin (:28) over Nick Martin (Bradford) before being pinned (2:30) himself by Colton Furgeson (Port Allegany).

“I thought I wrestled well in the semifinals,” said Kyler. “I got to my attacks quickly and worked some turns on top. I was just flowing and felt really loose and quick”

Kyler was able to avenge his teammate and take home the top spot in his class, with a pin (3:32) over Furgeson. Letendre went on to pin (4:30) Avenali after pinning (1:07) Tyson Ray (Bradford) for third.

“I didn’t really wrestle well in the finals,” Kyler said. “I gave up a reversal early and was just sloppy. I was slow getting to my offense and wasn’t working on top as well as I know I can.

“I’m happy with the result but I’m not satisfied with how I got it,” Kyler added. “I definitely need to clean it up a little bit before this coming week.”

After Austin Campbell (Kane) pinned (:29) Austin Harvey (Cameron County), he ran into Sheffield’s Christian Evans, who was able to pin (2:42) the Wolves’ junior before turning his attention to Kelvin Burgess (Port Allegany) where he would earn a 3-2 win. Burgess defeated Sheffield’s Carter Campbell in the first round via pinfall (4:20). Carter Campbell, a freshman, was able to battle back in dominant fashion for the third-place spot, with back-to-back technical-fall victories over Harvey (15-0), then Austin Campbell (17-2).

“I think I’m doing very well being a freshman,” said Carter Campbell of his progression this season. “I have been learning a lot throughout the year and I think I’m getting better week by week. The AML tournament went well for me, I would’ve rather wrestled in the finals, but I wrestled back for third.”

Julliette Morales (114 pounds), Alex Marfink (145 pounds) and Trenton Mead (215 pounds) all finished fourth in Saturday’s tournament.

The Wolverines will host cross-county rivals, Eisenhower, Tuesday night inside Ralph J. Santo gymnasium for Sheffield’s final home meet and Senior Night.

“We had a good tournament as a team, but sights are set on Eisenhower,” said Kyler. “They are a tough team and it’s going to be a dog fight, but I have faith in our guys and the work we’ve put in that if we show up, we can beat anyone. We just got to go out and do our thing and the points will fall where the points fall.”