MARQUETTE — The Gladstone wrestlers were nearly in top form here Saturday, earning their first U.P. championship in five years with 212 points.

They were followed by Iron Mountain 175 1/2, three-time defending champ Escanaba 155 1/2, Bark River-Harris 144 and Kingsford 136.

Six of the seven Gladstone wrestlers who reached the title round were crowned champions.

“The guys really wanted this one,” said Braves coach Jeff Brazeau. “This is great for our seniors. They worked their tails off for four years. They earned this.”

Senior Brett Boudreau retained his 285-pound title by pinning Marquette senior Chris Ricker in three minutes, one second.

“This is the same guy I wrestled two years ago (for the U.P. title), which was probably an advantage,” he said. “It’s a very good feeling to repeat, and winning as a team is really a big thing. We worked hard for this for four years.”

Braves’ sophomore Austin Solis (130) beat Esky junior Trevor DeGrand by technical fall (16-0) for his first championship.

“This means a lot,” said Solis. “After getting the first takedown, I could become more aggressive and take chances, and after getting a couple near falls you can take more chances. I think this gives me a little momentum going into the post-season.”

Gladstone senior Hunter Potier took his first 215-pound championship with an 11-7 victory over BR-H junior Drew Allgeyer in a rematch from Jan. 13 at Gladstone where Potier overcame a 14-3 deficit to win by pin.

“I definitely felt more confident this time,” said Potier. “I knew what kind of moves he was going to make. I knew the intensity was going to be even greater this time, and he definitely wanted it. There was more intensity in practice this week, and I took this one a little more seriously. I played basketball through last year, so this was my first time back in six years and playing football last fall and working with weights got me in shape for wrestling.”

Braves’ junior Eli Terrian used a last-season takedown to edge Esky freshman Cade Krueger 6-4 in the 112 final.

“He took a shot at me, and I came up with a counter move,” said Terrian. “He’s a very good wrestler. I’m looking forward to a rematch. This was my first time competing in the U.P. Championships. It’s an amazing experience. This is probably the best we wrestled as a team. We worked hard for this.”

Sophomore Drew Hansen added a first with a 4-0 victory over Iron Mountain junior Shawn McGuire in the 119 final and senior Michael Brazeau pinned Esky freshman Charley McInerney in 42 seconds at 125.

“There’s a lot of good wrestlers in our area,” said coach Brazeau. “This was a very exciting day for us. This was Hunter’s first win in a high school tournament which is big for him. That was a good match. Eli wrestled good, and Drew’s win over McGuire was another great moment. It’s always a good match with those guys.”

Gladstone senior Hunter Solis (135) also reached the title round but got pinned in 3:10 by Ishpeming senior Jaeger Wilson.

Ishpeming senior Dawson Delongchamp improved to 18-0 by pinning Esky senior Jarret Olsen 2:30 into the 189 title bout.

In other championship bouts, BR-H senior Dillon Raab (145) dropped an 8-6 decision to Kingsford senior Toby Wilcox and Manistique junior Jacob Berry lost by technical fall (15-0) to Iron Mountain senior Parker Stroud.

Marquette senior Wyatt Kuhlman, who pinned BR-H senior Wyatt Raab 5:28 into the 160 final, was selected Most Valuable Wrestler.

Area third-place finishers were Gladstone junior Cole Potier (171), Esky junior Adam Reimer (140) and sophomore Eli Gardner (119) and BR-H senior Avry Corrigan (112) and freshman Paul Smith (103).

Fourths went to BR-H sophomore Ethan Messersmith (140) and Manistique junior Dillon Hayes (119) and freshman Jonathan Weber (103).

In fifth place were Gladstone junior Andrew Sargent (160), Esky junior Trenton Turchin (135) and BR-H sophomore Noah Gagne (152).

“Our kids wrestled tough and took seven places in the top five,” said Esky assistant coach Tim Kenneally. “We came without 103 and 171-pounders and our heavyweight hurt his knee. We lost a lot of points, but we’re real happy with the way we performed. Our kids are all good friends with the Gladstone kids. We’re supposed to be rivals, but we still cheer for each other. Bark River-Harris is really coming around, and Iron Mountain is solid.”

Esky visits Iron Mountain for a quadrangular meet tonight, then go to Gaylord Saturday for the Northern Michigan Championships, which Gladstone and BR-H will also attend, and Manistique hosts its annual super duals.