Merrimack Youth Wrestling Competes in NHWAY State Championships

The Merrimack Youth Wrestling program attended the annual NHWAY State Championships held at Nashua South High School in Nashua, NH on February 25, 2018. Top four placers qualified to compete in the Youth New England Wrestling Championships. And top three placers qualified to potentially participate in the 2018 NYWAY National Spring Duals held in Brockport, NY. The tournament was double-elimination 8- or 16-man brackets if there was a sufficient number of wrestlers. Merrimack brought 13 wrestlers to the tournament with individual results below:

Kindergartener Bennett Meehan had three pins on the day with only one loss grabbing third place medal in the 43lb bracket. Kameron Lewis, grade K, completed one win by pin on the day in the 47lb bracket.

First grader, Olivia Dine had a commanding win by points in her third round, taking home fourth place in the 52lb bracket.

Ryan Marone, grade 2 fought hard in the 85lb bracket falling into consolations after his first match falling by a mere single point.

Third grader, Rhys Dewar took home his fourth straight NH State Champ title. He breezed through his bracket completing two wins by pin and one win by points. Benjamin Koudriashov, grade 3 fought hard in the tough 64lb bracket. Other third grader Kael McAloon also faced stiff competition in his 61lb bracket. He bounced back in the third round with a commanding win by points after falling into the consi bracket but ultimately fell in the fourth round. Luke Emond, grade 3 also followed a similar path as McAloon with a win by pin in third round in the consi bracket. But also ultimately fell in the fourth by points.

Jackson Meehan, grade 4 took home his third straight NH state champ title pinning two of his opponents and completing his final win by points. Fourth grader Cayden Dine faced one of the largest brackets on the day. He completed four wins by pin on the day and grabbed fourth place in the final match only falling by a mere few points in a very close matchup. Other fourth grader, Gryffen Gelinas completed one win by points in his first match and fought hard in his 68lb bracket.

Sixth graders Mitchell Krupp and Brendan Curley both took home third place in their 3-man 103lb and 123lb brackets, repectively. Curley had one win by points in his final match.

Luke Dewar also represented Merrimack in an exhibition match against Jude Correa, a Doughboy wrestler from Pelham, NH. Luke is a huge supporter of his brothers, Rhys and Anson and also of the MYA team. Jude exhibited great sportsmanship and Luke completed the win by pin. The heartwarming story was featured on FOX news where Luke and his family were interviewed about his love of the sport.

The Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program is part of the Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program. 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 13th season and currently has 40 wrestlers on the roster.

Photo caption 1: Dewar keeping his opponent from escaping in one of his three wins

Photos caption 2: Jackson Meehan working to complete one of his two pins on the day

Photo caption 3: Olivia Dine stuffing the head of her opponent into the mat

Photo caption 4: Gryffen Gelinas grabbing the head of his competitor

Photo caption 5: Kael McAloon trying to work his opponent off their belly

Photo caption 6: Cayden Dine working the front head lock