SAUGUS – The Saugus Youth and Recreation Mat Dogs wrestling team has been making a name for itself this winter, as 10 wrestlers took home first-place finishes in a tournament at Chelmsford High School in January.Around 60 youth wrestlers from grades two through seven participated in the tournament, with 18 representing Saugus. As a team, the Mat Dogs went 37-15 for the day, according to a press release from Saugus Youth and Recreation.First-place finishers included Mikey “Bones” Howard at 3-0 with three pins, Donovan Clark at 3-0, Dougie Clark at 3-0, Salvatore “the Bull” Franco at 3-0 with two pins, Nicholas Franco at 3-0 with three first period pins, Tommy St. Cyr at 3-0, Sean Hebert at 3-0 with three first period pins, Dominic Decrencenzo at 3-0, Joe Alba at 3-0, Tommy Falasca at 2-1, Shane Meredith at 2-1, William King at 2-1 and Ethan Graylin at 2-1. Isaac Graylin at 0-2 with a bye in one round losing two tough matches, one went into overtime, and Zachary Cummings went 0-2 with a bye in one round, according to the release.?It?s exciting,” said Chris Howard, Mikey?s dad and one of the founders of the program. “It gives you goosebumps. We started this program three years ago and it?s starting to grow. On the average we?ve had close to 35 and 40 kids since we started the program.”Seventh-grader and Saugus High School varsity wrestler Mike Titus went 1-2 at the novice division. Seventh-grader and SHS varsity wrestler Anthony Trang wrestled in the select division and went 0-3. Sixth-grader Danny McCullough, also wrestling with the varsity, went 1-2 in the select division, according to the release.Last weekend, the Clark brothers won their third straight tournament at Woburn High School and both sit at a perfect 12-0 on the year, while Franco went 3-1 on the day to finish third, according to the release.?This program provides the youth with skills that will help them not only on the mat, but in life,” said Youth and Recreation Director Greg Nickolas.Nickolas also gave a special thank you to parents and coaches, including Dougie Clark, Howard and Tommy Falasca along with sophomore wrestler Brandon Milton, who donated 12 hours of his Sunday to help coach.Howard, who is the brother of Saugus High School varsity wrestling coach Rudy Howard, said he?s hoping the youth program will help make the high school program stronger in the long run.?One of the problems is wrestling just started back up in Saugus four or five years ago,” said Howard. “A lot of the kids that wrestle for Saugus High are first-time wrestlers, so it kind of hurts the program a little bit. Now that there?s a youth program, we?re able to hopefully send some kids to the high school. If they stay with it, once they get to high school they?ll have had a few tournaments and quite a bit of experience. Hopefully it?s going to put Saugus on the map as far as wrestling.”Howard described wrestlers as a unique kind of athlete, who, while they may not do well at traditional sports like hockey, can excel on the mat one-on-one.?I call them the misfit kids,” said Howard. “They don?t play basketball, they may not find other sports to their liking, but it?s a unique sport.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].