The Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program competed in the Marshwood’s New England Youth Wrestling Tournament held at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine on April 1. This double elimination folkstyle, postseason tournament attracts die-hards from all over the New England region. Merrimack sent twelve wrestlers, the largest group to date, to compete with individual results below.

Second grader Rhys Dewar took home third place medal with one pin on the day and two wins by points.

Kael McAloon, grade two, completed one win by pin and one by points enroute to fourth place on the podium.

Second graders Collin Schuster and Luke Emond fought hard in their respective brackets with Schuster taking one win by points on the day.

Cayden Dine, grade three, grabbed third place medal with two pins and one commanding win by points.

Third-grader Jackson Meehan took home fourth place medal with two wins by pin on the day. Meehan narrowly fell in his final match by two points in OT.

John Regal, grade three, wrestled hard in the 72.4-pound bracket completing one win by points.

Fifth graders, Mitchell Krupp and Owen Forrest each fought tough in the 94.8- and 68.4-pound brackets, respectively. Forrest narrowly fell in his final match by a mere two points.

Anson Dewar and Aiden Hanning, grade 8, each captured massive second place trophies. Dewar had one win by pin and two by points narrowly falling to the first place winner by two points in the championship match. Hanning had two wins by pin and one by technical fall also narrowly falling by two points in the final round.

Eighth grader Zachary Maszczak completed one win by pin on the day to take fourth. And keeping with the trend he also fell by a mere two points in the final round.

This was the final tournament for the eighth graders and the last time we will see them in MYA singlets. Hanning and Dewar particularly helped shape the program with their years of involvement in the program. They served as an inspiration and great role models for the younger wrestlers. We are excited to see what they all do as they move onto their high school careers.

The Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program is part of the Merrimack Youth Association. It strives to provide a safe recreational activity for Merrimack children in grades K-8. The program promotes the sport of wrestling, the world’s oldest sport, by providing a safe practice environment, by delivering high quality instruction, and by facilitating tournament competition opportunities. The program is in its 12th season and currently has 46 wrestlers on its roster.