MYA Wrestling heads to PJ Sora Memorial Wrestling Tournament

The Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program competed in the annual PJ Sora Armed Forces Memorial Wrestling Tournament held at Londonderry High School in Londonderry, NH on December 10, 2018. Top three in each respective bracket were awarded medals and Merrimack took home seven medals on the day. Seventeen wrestlers from the MYA competed with individual results below:

Kindergartners Caleb Bell and Matthew Snavely worked hard in their first career tournament. Bell had a commanding win by points in his second match of the day. And Snavely had two wins with a win by pin for his first.

Quentin Ellison, grade 1 also participated in his first tournament and wrestled hard against some tough competition. Our other first grade representation was Kameron Lewis who brought home the second place medal. He started off strong winning with a tech fall and pin, falling shy of first place in his last match by a mere 1 point.

Second grader Calissa Bell was neck and neck with her first competitor and would have came out victorious if she had a few more seconds ending the match in a pinning position. Her first loss put her in the consolation bracket where she fell to her final competitor.

Our fourth graders made a strong showing with two being crowned champions, Rhys Dewar and Liam Newman. Both breezed through their brackets with Dewar pinning three of his opponents and winning one by points. Newman had one pin on the day and his other two matches were won by points. Other fourth graders Aiden Kennedy and Luke Emond fought hard in their respective brackets.

Fifth graders, John Regal, Griffin Turgeon, Nicolin Stevens and Jackson Meehan also had a successful day. Meehan had four wins by pin in his 6-man round robin bracket with his final win by points taking home first place medal. John Regal had a commanding win in his first match by points. He fell in his second match dropping into the consolation bracket. But he fought his way back to third place winning by pin and points in his third and fourth match, respectively. Nicolin Stevens made a strong showing winning two matches by points. And Griffin Turgeon fought hard in his tough bracket.

Ivey Johnson, grade 6 had a very successful day pinning all of her opponents en route to first place.

Seventh grade veterans Owen Forrest and Mitchell Krupp wrestled tough throughout the day. Forrest commanded his bracket taking first place medal with a win by pin and two matches won by points. Krupp fought hard and narrowly fell in his second match by a mere two points.

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: Snavely and Bell in the referee's position during their match against each other

Photo caption 2: Rhys Dewar working a pin on one of his opponents

Photo caption 3: John Regal stuffing the head of his competition

Photo caption 4: Calissa Bell trying to work to her base