MYA Wrestling competes in the Fitchburg Holiday Tournament

The Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program competed in the 6th Annual Fitchburg Holiday Tournament held at Monty Tech Vocational High School in Fitchburg, MA on December 23, 2018. It was a 4/5 man round robin tournament with the top three wrestlers earning a medal on the day in 3-8^th grade brackets and top four earning a medal in K-2 contingent. Twelve wrestlers from the MYA competed with individual results below:

Kindergartners Bennett Meehan, Caleb Bell and Matthew Snavely faced tough competition with Snavely clinching one win by points to take home fourth place medal. Meehan and Bell finished third and fifth respectively.

Kameron Lewis, grade 1, faced very experienced competition and placed fourth on the day.

Second grader, Calissa Bell worked hard in her respective bracket bringing home fourth place medal.

Luke Emond and Rhys Dewar represented for Merrimack’s fourth grade contingent. Dewar pinned his way through his first two opponents and secured his champ title with a tech fall while facing his final opponent. Emond fought hard against the best of the best in terms of competition in New England.

Fifth graders, John Regal, Griffin Turgeon and Jackson Meehan worked hard in their respective brackets. We learned early on that this tournament attracted very good competition including competitors extending from CT. With that said Regal and Turgeon wrestled tough against older and more experienced wrestlers. Meehan pinned two of his three opponents, falling narrowly in his final match 0-3 to earn second place medal.

Ivey Johnson, grade 6, faced a similar path as Meehan pinning two of her opponent but falling to her third to earn second place on the podium. She made a very strong showing against the competitor she lost to. She was commanding the match most of the way not allowing her opponent to score on her. But ended up getting caught reaching back to allow her opponent to pin her.

Seventh grader, Owen Forrest came home with a very hard earned third place medal on the day. He gave the top competitors in the region a run for their money in his first two matches falling in both very narrowly by a couple of points. He finished strong pinning his final opponent.

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 14th season and currently has 40 wrestlers on its roster.

Photo caption 1: Owen Forrest trying to break away from the grip of his competitor

Photo caption 2: Caleb Bell trying to get up and out

Photo caption 3: Matthew Snavely attempting to break down his opponent

Photo caption 4: Ivey Johnson waiting for the whistle against one of the opponents she pinned