MYA Wrestling Competes in 2nd Annual Queen City Classic

The Merrimack Youth Wrestling program attended the annual Queen City Classic held at Central High School in Manchester, NH on February 4, 2018.

The highlight of the tournament was an exhibition match between Luke Dewar and his opponent from the Manchester Police Athletc League (MPAL) Derek Jones. Luke has been a long time fan cheering on his brothers who have been wrestling for Merrimack for nearly a decade. Luke is an extraordinarily kind boy who always has a smile on his face. He is MYA’s #1 fan and today we all got to cheer him on for his first career match! Luke is developmentally delayed but he wrestled tough and with the help of his dad and coach Jeff Dewar, grabbed his first career pin. His competitor Derek Jones, a third grader from Beech Street School in Manchester, NH, exhibited great sportsmanship during the match. Luke wrestled the whole match with a huge smile on his face!

The K-8 tournament was round robin style with three experience levels: Beginner, Novice and Select. Merrimack sent twenty-two wrestlers to the tournament with individual results below:

Kindergarteners Bennett Meehan and Ryan Safa each took home second place medal with Meehan winning two by pin on the day. Safa also had his first win of the season by points. Kameron Lewis, K, had one pin on the day taking third place.

Calissa Bell, grade 1, grabbed her first career win by points and nearly pinned her opponent. Bell took third place on the podium.

Second grader, Ryan Marone made a very strong showing taking home second place with one win by pin and one win by points.

Our always strong third grade representation consisted of the following wrestlers: Finian Rousseau, Kael McAloon, Ben Goldstein, Liam Newman, Ben Koudriashov, Micah Dodds, Aiden Kennedy, Amir Safa and Luke Emond. Our first year wrestlers Rousseau and Goldstein wrestled tough and continue to improve with each tournament both coming in fourth place. Koudriashov and Emond each had one pin on the day with Emond grabbing third place and Koudriashov taking 5th in a very large “Superman” bracket. McAloon also competed in the tough “Superman” bracket grabbing sixth place on the day. Newman also competed in a large select bracket and took home fifth place medal. Dodds, Safa and Kennedy fought hard in novice brackets all taking fourth place on the podium.

Fourth graders Griffin Turgeon, John Regal and Jackson Meehan competed well on the day. Turgeon grabbed his first two career wins, both by pin taking home second place medal. Regal had one commanding win by points taking third place on the podium. Meehan snagged champ title with two of his wins by pin. Meehan also competed in the 5th/6th grade bracket grabbing another first place medal adding another two wins by pin.

Sixth graders. Mitchell Krupp and Brendan Curly each had one win by pin with Curley securing his win by tech fall. Krupp took home third place medal and Curley grabbed another win by points for second place. Danny Safa, grade 6, also had one win by points taking third place on the podium.

Eighth grader, Hunter Adams secured his first win of the season with a win by points taking home fourth place medal.

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: Luke Dewar securing his first career pin
Photo caption 2: Liam Newman sprawling against his opponent
Photo caption 3: Micah Dodds in referee’s position
Photo caption 4: Ben Goldstein working to sit out
Photo caption 5: Hunter Adams trying to switch out from bottom
Photo caption 6: Jackson Meehan trying to work the half in
Photo caption 7: Griffin Turgeon securing one of his two pins on the day
Photo caption 8: Luke Emond trying to work off the bottom of fellow teammate Amir Safa