Inaugural Bow Backyard Brawl Wrestling Tournament, Under The Lights, A Smashing Summer Success

BOW, NH — More than 100 New England wrestlers battled bouts in the blazing late July afternoon sun on Saturday and later, as the sun set, under the Bow High School football field lights at the first Bow Backyard Brawl.

Wrestlers from four states attended the event and were involved in more than 160 bouts. Ages ranged from fifth grade to college wrestlers. The tournament featured four round robin brackets with each wrestler wrestling at least three times. It also used the Madison Weight System.

Three mats were laid out on the school’s field with spectators watching from the track. The event was pushed back a bit to allow all the wrestlers who signed up to attend and to keep the mats as cool as possible.

The event took months of planning, according to Bow High School Wrestling Coach William Chavanelle. And the hope was that if they could pull it off, it could be an annual event.

“It’s different,” he said. “Everybody talks about doing something cool in the summer, but no one ever does. So I was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to do it…’ I’m not in the business of just waiting around.”

Chavanelle set the tournament up similar to the BGS Brawls-style put together by the Concord wrestling programs in the spring. Since the school had all of the equipment, like mats and such, as well as a solid system of boosters and a large team, which has won four division championships, it was worth giving it a try.

“We have all the kids, we got the parents involved, if anyone was going to do it, it would be this program,” Chavanelle said.

The tournament was limited to 130 wrestlers, and the event just about reached that goal. Other than New Hampshire, wrestlers from Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont attended. Chavanelle said, as organizers, they did not want to go too overboard, using the analogy, it was best to learn to walk before running. The weather, while hot, was perfect, and there was no rain.

“And it’s not snowing either,” Chavanelle said.

Despite wrestling being a very popular sport in New England, the need is there for summer events, due to the limited options for students who grapple as their main sport.

The Rhode Island Beach Wrestling Championships will be held in Narragansett on Aug. 1, while the Lynn Shore Showdown is also being held in Nahant, MA, on Aug. 8. Grappling Industries New Hampshire will host a tourney on Aug. 15 at the Hampshire Dome in Milford. Hundreds of wrestlers competed at the Bay State Games in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, held earlier this month, with about three dozen New Hampshire wrestlers participating. But another fun event, the late June Rumble at the Ballpark in Sanford, Maine, which had been running for eight years, was canceled this year due to declining attendance.

Chavanelle said off-season work, though, was important, regardless of the sport, study, or employment.

“The old expression, it’s a cliché, but it’s true, summer work makes winter champions,” he said. “You don’t get anything if you don’t put time into it. We have a lot of guys and girls on our team who want to be state champs. But they have to put the work in… How do you do that? You sacrifice a Saturday night to come here and do better… These kids could all be doing 100 things that aren’t wrestling related.”

As the sun set, the field lights were illuminated. The evening dew made the mats a bit slick. But volunteers took towels and wiped them down as the night went on. Around 10:30 p.m., the lights shut off for a short spell, since they were on a timer. After they were turned back on, the final bouts commenced. So, there are a couple of glitches to fix for next year. But overall? It was a smashing success.

Chavanelle, too, pointed to some key figures involved in helping get the event off the ground, including the district’s IT director, Kris Vose, who made sure the Internet was running to communicate the results to FloWrestling. He also thanked parents, volunteers, the boosters, school administrators, and all the wrestlers from Bow who put in extra time to make it happen.

High School Results

Weight Category G: 1st Sean Flaherty (Bow Brawlers), 2nd Gabe Kenna (Doughboys Wrestling Club, Bedford), 3rd Shaye Watson (Windham), and 4th Imogen Lamarche (Bow Brawlers).

H: 1st Camryn Roussell (Smitty’s, Londonderry), 2nd Brandon Li (Unattached, Boston, MA), 3rd Aarush Dutta (NSHS, Nashua), and 4th Aedan O’Shaughnessy (Unattached, John Stark).

I: 1st Jaron Todisco Coulon (Bow), 2nd Jordan Perez (Perez Wrestling, Milford), 3rd Dayton Brigante (Unattached, Winnisquam), and 4th Graham Fernald (Smitty’s, Auburn).

J: 1st Shane Rabalais (Bow), 2nd Craig Burge (Doughboys, Nashua), 3rd Liam Ferris (Mindset, Milford), and 4th Evan Langlois (Empire Wrestling Club, Merrimack)

K: 1st Dylan Griffin (Springfield College, Winnisquam), 2nd Kane Davis (Milford), 3rd Eli Kidwell (Unattached, St. Johnsbury Academy, Vermont), and 4th Charles McKinnon (Bow).

L: 1st Gabriel Perez (Perez Wrestling, Londonderry), 2nd Jacob Mullen (Kearsarge), 3rd Joseph Fay V (Mindset, Milford), and 4th Slayde Watson (Unattached, Windham).

M: 1st Nasr Abbari (Doughboys, Manchester Memorial), 2nd Brayden Menard (Unattached, John Stark), 3rd Ryan Malloy (Bow), and 4th Dario Giampaolo (Bow Brawlers).

N: 1st Christopher Angellis (NSHS, Nashua), 2nd Logan Gillen (Campbell, Litchfield), 3rd Colton Habel (Unattached, Wolfeboro), and 4th Elizabeth Jones (Mindset).

O: 1st Anwer Ali (University of Southern Maine, Westbrook, ME), 2nd Hunter Knight (Doughboys, Hollis), 3rd Aiden Rumsey (Pentucket, West Newbury, MA), and 4th Jaxson Francis (603 FIGHT CLUB, Plymouth).

P: 1st Colin Egan (Smitty’s, Londonderry), 2nd Joseph Gosselin (Mindset, Newport), 3rd Gage Richard (Kearsarge), and 4th Bryson Wesler (Bow).

Q: 1st Bailey Courtney (Mindset, Milford), 2nd Omar Manahe (Unattached, Gorham, ME), 3rd Ryan Poier (Hooligan Wrestling Club, Biddeford, ME), and 4th Caleb Hafford (Bow).

R: 1st Noah Cataldo (Smitty’s, Hudson), 2nd Kayden Wilson (Mascoma Valley, Canaan), 3rd Zac Kellett (Unattached, Kingswood), and 4th Alex Fierro (Perez Wrestling, Nashua North).

S: 1st Jayden Deal (Smitty’s, Rochester), 2nd Jared Dolder (Unattached, Alfred State Athletics, Bow), 3rd Hunter Griffin (John Stark), 4th Ricardo Perez (Perez Wrestling, Londonderry).

T: 1st Sage Anctil (Smitty’s, Litchfield), 2nd Bryan Desroche (Empire, Salem), 3rd Connor Woodbury (Unattached, Kingswood), and 4th Luke Moccia (CMG Wrestling Academy, Hudson).

U: 1st Ethan Levesque (Doughboys, Bedford), 2nd Charlie Clifford (603 FIGHT CLUB, Plymouth), 3rd Cody Richards (Bow), and 4th Tiernan McCarthy (Unattached, Wolfeboro).

V: 1st Noah Sevigny (Kearsarge), 2nd Grant Buchholz (603 FIGHT CLUB), 3rd Jacob Todisco Coulon (Bow), and 4th Christopher Bolton (Kearsarge).

W: 1st Josiah Funches (Bow), 2nd Deltyn Williams (Unattached, Goffstown), 3rd Jaydon Uccello (Campbell, Litchfield), and 4th Matthew Gonzalez (ConVal, Peterborough)

X: 1st Xavier Moreau (Unattached, Manchester), 2nd Kevin Mullen (Bow), 3rd Dan Pratt (Bow), and 4th Locke Olesky (ConVal, Peterborough).

Y: 1st Will Lewis (Pentucket, West Newbury, MA), 2nd Peter Simone (Doughboys, Southern Maine), 3rd Noah Bassett (Winnisquam), and 4th Collin Fournier (York, ME).

Z: 1st Reilly Moskalenko (Kearsarge), 2nd Benjamin Laflamme (Perez Wrestling, Nashua North), 3rd Colby Gunda (Plymouth State, Salem), and 4th John McKinnon (Bow).

7th And 8th Results

D: 1st Gavin Fernald (Smitty’s), 2nd Isaac Danforth (Empire), 3rd Ryder Hoffman (Bow Brawlers), and 4th Ethan Bullock (Bow Brawlers).

E: 1st Toby Bong (Empire), 2nd Alden Cearbaugh (Hooligan), 3rd Mason Regan (Empire), and 4th Aaliyah Smith (Hooligan).

F: 1st Madison Mullen (Bow Brawlers), 2nd Sean Kowalski (Unattached), and 3rd Dominic Giampaolo (Bow Brawlers).

5th And 6th Results

A: 1st Edward Curra (Empire), 2nd Tayden Bong (Empire), 3rd Abel Danforth (Empire), and 4th Lylah Hoffman (Bow Brawlers).

B: 1st Gunnar Sholan (St. J Prospectors), 2nd Tyler MacKinnon (CMG), 3rd Carson Perry (Empire), and 4th Greyson Gray (Mindset).

C: 1st Everett Longley (Empire) and 2nd Jackson Rowe (Smitty’s).

View the full list of participants and results linked here.

Do you have a news tip? Email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube or Rumble channels. Patch in New Hampshire is now in 227 communities and neighborhoods — and expanding every day. Also, follow Patch on Google Discover.