The Merrimack Youth Wrestling Program competed in the annual Fitchburg Holiday Tournament held at Monty Tech Vocational High School in Fitchburg, Mass., on Dec. 18.

This tournament attracted a lot of stiff competition from the area’s top wrestling club. Merrimack sent 11 wrestlers to compete with individual results below.

Kindergartner Grayson Chestnut raked in another first-place medal plowing through the competition with two pins.

Andrew Schuster, K, took third place on the podium with one strong win by points.

Rhys Dewar, grade 2, went on a pin rally, taking down three of his opponents by pin to bring home second place on the day.

Second graders Collin Schuster, Kael McAloon and Liam Bright all made strong showings in tough brackets. Schuster took second-place medal with one win by pin and one win by commanding points. McAloon took third with two pins on the day. First-time competitor, Bright fought hard to bring home fourth.

Third graders Cayden Dine, Jackson Meehan and Christian Chestnut battled hard in tough brackets. All had one pin on the day with Dine taking third and Meehan and Chestnut bringing home fourth.

Fifth-graders JJ Bright and Mitchell Krupp faced tough competition with Bright pinning two of his opponents to bring home third and Krupp narrowly falling in his second match by a mere two points to take third.

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.