Merrimack Youth Association competes in the 23rd Jon Spohn Memorial Wrestling Classic

MERRIMACK, NH — The Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program competed in the Jon Spohn Memorial Wrestling Classic held at Salem High School in Salem on Dec. 11, 2016. This is a qualifying tournament for the Gene Mills Eastern Nationals and attracts great talent from the area. Merrimack sent eighteen wrestlers to compete with individual results below.

Kindergartner Grayson Chestnut brought home the first place medal putting him in the running to compete in the Gene Mills National Tournament.

First time K wrestlers, Olivia Dine, Tyler Colon and Andrew Schuster put up a hard fight with Andrew winning one match by points and one by pin.

Second grader Rhys Dewar dominated his way through to first place with one win by pin and two wins by massive points.

Collin Schuster, grade 2 pulled in a second place medal with a strong showing by pinning two of his opponents to fall in the champ round by pin.

Second grader Ben Koudriashov received third place on the podium with three wins by pin.

Our remaining second graders also had a strong showing and included Kael McAloon and Emmi Haddad each with one win by pin. As well as our first time wrestlers: Aiden Kennedy and Luke Emond.

Cayden Dine, grade 3, took second place with two wins by pin and one hard fought loss by points in the championship round.

Third graders Liam Harman, Christian Chestnut and Jackson Meehan also competed with Chestnut taking one win by pin and Meehan taking two wins by pin.

Mitchell Krupp and Owen Forrest, grade 5, also competed with Krupp bringing home one win by points.

Seventh grader, Hunter Adams also put up a hard fight on the day.

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 12th season and currently has 46 wrestlers on its roster.

Photo caption 1: Rhys Dewar knocking his opponent off their feet

Photo caption 2: Cayden Dine gripping his opponent’s leg

Photo caption 3: Emmi Hadded trying to get her opponent down

Photo caption 4: Olivia Dine trying to work out from the bottom of fellow teammate Andrew Schuster

Photo caption 5: Collin Schuster trying to get the pin

Photo caption 6: Liam Harman working to stay off his back

Photo cation 7: Aiden Kennedy putting up a tough fight denying the pin

Heather Meehan
Merrimack Youth Wrestling
www.myawrestling.com