BYW students visit Harvard University for clinic and match

Cambridge, MA 2/25/15 On Friday February 20, BYW attended a wrestling clinic and collegiate dual meet hosted by Harvard University as part of "BYW Night" in honor of the organization's efforts to promote youth development in inner-city Boston by inspiring personal, academic, and athletic success through the sport of wrestling. BYW students were able to get on the mat with current Harvard wrestlers, who were eager to show off some great technique to our budding wrestlers. All our wrestlers and coaches stayed to watch Harvard take on Columbia University in an Ivy League dual meet match up. In total, 35 students from six Boston Public Schools were in attendance on the night. The schools represented included: Curley K-8 School, Eliot K-8 School, Frederick Middle School, King K-8 School, Lee K-8 School, and Mozart Elementary School.

Max Mejia '15, a senior on the Harvard Wrestling team, was asked about the event: "It was an exciting atmosphere watching the Harvard wrestlers work some technique with Boston Youth Wrestling. I felt honored that they decided to stick around and support us on our senior night as we wrestled Columbia! As a member of the Harvard Wrestling team, I look forward to fostering a strong relationship with Boston Youth Wrestling on and off the mat."

For many of our students, it was their first visit to the nation's oldest university, and for some also their first exposure to wrestling at the collegiate level.

BYW would like to thank Head Coach Jay Weiss and Assistant Coach J.P. O'Connor, as well as Max and the rest of the Harvard wrestling team, for coordinating the event and making our students feel especially welcome on their campus.

For more photos from the event, read the entire article on our website.