Wrestlers From 5 Schools Scrimmage At Concord High School In First Bouts Of The Season

CONCORD, NH — High school wrestlers from around the region began gearing up for the 2025-2026 season at a scrimmage on Wednesday afternoon at Concord High School.

Hundreds of wrestlers from Concord, Bow, Franklin, Plymouth, and Winnisquam battled in several bouts on three practice mats used by the Crimson Tide wrestling team. Nearly all the wrestlers had at least two bouts during the scrimmage.

This year is a wistful one for Concord with a large senior class of wrestlers, 12, many of whom have been wrestling together since sixth grade at the Rundlett Middle School, under William Chavanelle, who now leads the Bow High School Falcons.

Coach Hamilton Munnell, who is entering his 30th season as the head coach for the Tide, agreed the team had a strong senior class. Many up-and-coming freshmen have also been wrestling in the RMS program, he said. The Tide has 48 wrestlers this season.

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“We have good kids,” Munnell said. “We have a good senior group. A nice freshman class and good leadership with the seniors. They are working hard.”

Even though it was a scrimmage, all the wrestlers seemed more serious and aggressive this year than in prior years, including many of the visiting wrestlers. This year, the Tide wrestlers will be traveling a lot, since they have only a handful of home meets. The first meet for the 2025-2026 season is against Pelham. Tide wrestlers usually only face off against the school at tourneys.

“We’ll see what’s out there,” Munnell said. “It’s going to be fun.”

Chavanelle agreed it was going to be a bittersweet season, with so many of the Concord wrestlers in their last year. He said, “I’m not going to lie … it’s going to mess me up a bit. I still get jacked up watching them wrestling.” Bow, too, has a large number of graduating wrestlers — about 30 percent of the team, many of whom have been with him for four years, and helped lead the Falcons to two state championships. He noted, as he continues to coach, he is less nervous and more excited. There is pressure, but the kids are handling it, he said.

“You just always have your own little insecurities as a coach,” Chavanelle said, “and you want to make sure you’re doing the best … I hold the wrestlers to a high standard and hold myself to an even higher standard, too.”

There are days, he said, when he must bring his own energy. On Wednesday, though, the team was feisty and raring to go, which was more in line with the coaches’ style, Chavanelle said.

“We’re always gearing, gearing, gearing,” he said. “I’m impressed (with the team) overall.”

George Tarwo, a former CHS state wrestling champion and Tide coach, is beginning his first official year as head coach of the Franklin High School Tornadoes, which has 13 wrestlers.

“I’m very excited with the progression of our team,” he said. “Wins and losses obviously are going to come, but the team size is great, the camaraderie is great, the chemistry and just, overall, the effort they are putting in, I’m really proud of them.”

Tarwo said the team has seen some injuries and scheduling issues, but otherwise, they seem to love the sport and want to improve. He commended the school administration and coaching staff for helping the team reach this point.

When asked about the scrappiness of most of the team for the scrimmage compared to some of the bouts last year, Tarwo agreed.

“It makes our effort seem good, the work we’re putting in,” he said. “Obviously, we’re instilling a lot of things in their knowledge, and now we want them to take it and apply it. That’s the big thing. Just take it and apply it.”

Due to a redesign and incomplete scores, Patch was unable to publish the individual results. Concord High School racked up 671 points while Bow had 263. Plymouth had 156, Winnisquam 155, and Franklin 154, according to the pre-season team scores. To see some of the results, visit FloWrestling.

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