THE town’s young wrestling talent kicked off 2017 with a podium-busting performance in the first major competition of the year.

Sharples Wrestling Club returned from the Welsh Open with three senior medals and seven in the junior competition

And Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club took an inexperienced team of 15 juniors but exceeded all expectations, with every one of them winning a medal.

Their total haul included five gold medals, eight silver and two bronze.

Grace Costello, Charlie Meadows, Jack Costello, Nathan Livesey, and Abdullah Hussain were all crowned Welsh national champions in their various weight and age divisions.

Mia Kipling, Harry Lancelott, Ruby Leader, Harry Meadows, Arin Sekirden, Tommy Costello, Hamza Hussain and Gareth Liptrott-Pass all returned with silver medals, while Harvey May and Cameron Leader earned bronze.

Head coach Tony Morris said: “These results are fantastic considering how many young wrestlers we had competing.

“They are certainly going to be the ones to watch in the future and will be great additions to our existing squad of wrestlers.”

Sharples coach Eddy Kavanagh, who is manager of England’s 2018 Commonwealth Games team, picked out the performance of young Lewis McGrath as a highlight.

The 17-year-old stepped up to compete in the senior competition and won five matches to earn a silver medal.

Sharples also boasted two senior gold medals, with Georgina Nelthorpe taking the 75k women’s title and Rocky Valentinos claiming victory in the men’s 86k division.

In the juniors section, Malachy O’Rourke, David Siko, Josh Moore, Kelsey Barnes and Ellis Crossley won gold, while Malachi O’Neill earned a silver medal and Phoebe Cocker claimed a bronze.