Since 2007, the Youth New England Wrestling (YNEW) Championships have been the culmination of the winter wrestling season in New England, the competition where youth wrestlers "test their mettle against the best"
In those days, the tournament was held on one day, using partial mats, like most youth wrestling competitions of that era. Originally, there were only two age groups in the OPEN competition. There were no team titles and no individual awards for outstanding wrestlers. The tournament was run ‘on paper’, with bout sheets and flip charts. Still, the competition for the YNEW champion’s hoodie was intense.
The early years featured many talented youth wrestlers who went on to excel at the high school and collegiate levels. A close look at the YNEW All-Timers List of past champions and placers reads like a who’s-who of New England wrestling stars, with many earning multiple state and New England titles in high school before moving on to stellar college careers. Dozens of former YNEW competitors have wrestled for collegiate wrestling programs across the country, from college club teams to New England D-3 schools to big time D-1 programs in the midwest and the south. From the Big Ten to the Ivy League, from the Southern Conference to the New England Wrestling Association, numerous YNEW alumni have earned conference titles, All-American status, and even national championships.
For the first decade, the focus was solely on hosting the annual YNEW Championships. In 2014, Youth New England Wrestling (YNEW) was established as a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization. By then, the YNEW tournament directors understood their mission to grow the sport of wrestling in New England was evolving. What started as an opportunity to “test your mettle against the best” was turning into something more.
From its beginning, YNEW has partnered with local wrestling programs to provide support services for the Youth New Englands. The local programs set up and break down the competition area (mats, tables, chairs, fencing, etc.), and their wrestlers work the scoring tables throughout the tournament weekend.
Each year, YNEW makes a donation to these programs for their services. Over the past two decades, more than $100,000 in donations have been made to the local wrestling programs who have partnered with YNEW. By providing a fundraising and team-building opportunity for local wrestling programs, we are contributing to the growth of New England Wrestling.
While the Youth New Englands is still YNEW’s primary focus, we have expanded our mission to include recognition for high school seniors. In 2017, the New England Pride Scholarships program was created to support former YNEW wrestlers who are graduating from high school and moving on to collegiate wrestling. The New England Pride Scholarships provide an opportunity for all of us to show our pride and recognize the accomplishments of several outstanding individuals from the New England wrestling community.
In recent years, the YNEW tournament has grown to become the largest in New England. There are now four OPEN competitions and three GIRLS competitions for ages 6-15 years old. The tournament is held on twelve full mats over two days. There are special awards for most dominant and outstanding wrestlers, as well as team competitions for girls, town, and club teams. KapWrestling uses a paperless system to manage the entire competition, which is live-streamed on FloWrestling. The host facilities have grown larger to accommodate the crowds, and the YNEW tournament has turned into a ‘mark-your-calendar’ event for youth wrestlers in New England. Oftentimes, YNEW wrestlers use their experience to test their mettle at national/regional competitions in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Florida.
In 2022, the Youth New Englands returned from a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID pandemic. For the first time ever, a Girls Competition was held, with about 60 girls competing for a New England championship. Since then, the Girls Competition has grown dramatically and a new age group has been added for younger wrestlers. In 2023, YNEW hosted the inaugural Girls New Englands for high school wrestlers, a competition that has since been added to the High School New Englands. Meanwhile, the Open Competition has grown to more than 1,000 competitors.
For the past two years, the Youth New Englands has been hosted at the Game On Sportsplex in Fitchburg MA, where Monty Tech Wrestling and Leominster Wrestling have provided support services for the YNEW Championships. We are grateful for the support from Monty Tech and Leominster Wrestling. It’s been rewarding to see these wrestling programs benefit from our partnership.
Last March, YNEW 2024 produced sixteen outstanding wrestlers, three team champions, and 78 individual champions. CONGRATULATIONS to all individual/team champions and placers, your names are now included in the YNEW All-Timers List.
In addition, two special awards were presented at YNEW 2024: the Dalton Award went to Lowell MA for building community through wrestling; and the Germann Award was presented to Steve and Brandon Fulco (Southside Wrestling Club) for their contributions to New England Wrestling.
Congrats to all of the YNEW 2024 award winners!
- Club Team Champs – Doughboy Wrestling Club
- Town Team Champs – Newtown CT
- Girls Team Champs – Maine Trappers
- Dalton Award – Lowell, MA
- Germann Award – Steve & Brandon Falco + Southside Wrestling Club
- Most Outstanding Wrestler GIRLS (Elena Award) – Chloe Ross
- Most Outstanding Wrestler OPEN (Peckham Award) – Lucas Copper
- Outstanding Wrestler (10U GIRLS) – Avalyn Lamarre
- Most Dominant Wrestler (10U GIRLS) – Maeve Fernald
- Outstanding Wrestler (12U GIRLS) – Brooke Dixon
- Most Dominant Wrestler (12U GIRLS) – Zsofia Quiles
- Outstanding Wrestler (15U GIRLS) – Kaydn Hansen
- Most Dominant Wrestler (15U GIRLS) – Chloe Ross
- Outstanding Wrestler (8U OPEN) – Abe Gusha
- Most Dominant Wrestler (8U OPEN) – Joseph Stolfi
- Outstanding Wrestler (10U OPEN) – Parker Topa
- Most Dominant Wrestler (10U OPEN) – Maddox Wilson
- Outstanding Wrestler (12U OPEN) – Camron Veneziano
- Most Dominant Wrestler (12U OPEN) – Jackson Mahoney
- Outstanding Wrestler (15U OPEN) – David McNally
- Most Dominant Wrestler (15U OPEN) – Dawson McGrath