Team Massachusetts poses for a group photo before competing at the 2023 US Marine Corps Junior & 16U Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, July 15-22.

Dehney makes Massachusetts Wrestling History in Fargo; Multiple others from New England earn All-American honors at Women’s 16U and Junior Nationals

It took just two days inside the FargoDome at the 2023 US Marine Corps Junior & 16U Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, July 15-22, for some of New England’s best to etch their names in the Fargo record books – securing their respective place in Fargo folklore forever.

With her Junior 127-pound crown, Jaclyn “Jackie” Dehney of Central Catholic High School (Lawrence, MA) became just the second three-time Junior women’s freestyle All-American in state history (2021–2023), joining Jennah Brennan, who placed in Juniors from 2011-2013, according to Jason Bryant, Mat Talk Online. She also has a 16U All-American honor to her credit from 2019 as well.

Jackie Dehney secured the 127-pound Junior division National Championship for Team Massachusetts.

Watch Jackie’s post-match interview after winning her first Fargo National Championship.

If you perform well enough on the mats of the FargoDome during that one wrestling-packed week in mid-July, you earn the right to call yourself a Fargo All-American (top-8 in your weight class) or maybe even a Fargo National Champion (first-place at your weight). That achievement will not only earn you respect, but cement your place in high school wrestling history within your state.

Dehney’s dominant 7-0 showing did just that. She included five wins by fall, a tech fall, and a convincing 9-4 decision in the finals over Emily Sindoni of New York. Dehney outscored her opponents by a combined 48-10, and held her opponents scoreless in three of her seven bouts.

Photo by Jim Thrall. Graphic courtesy of Mat Ladies Worldwide.

“This year with Jackie was extremely impressive because everything came full circle for her,” Team Massachusetts coach Matt Dehney said. “Two years ago, she was in the finals, [and ended with] a heartbreaking loss. Just seeing the work she has put in [since that loss] and to see her come [here this weekend] and get rewarded is the coolest thing. She deserves all the recognition she’s getting, and I couldn’t be happier for her.”

Watch Jackie’s Junior Fargo Finals bout here
on FloWrestling

Alongside Dehney, Samantha “Sam” Bertini of Ludlow High School in Ludlow, Massachusetts, recorded an All-American finish after placing fourth at the 16U Division at 94 pounds.

Bertini racked up a pair of quick wins by fall without surrendering a point before dropping her first match of the weekend to Morgan Turner of Illinois in the quarterfinals, who was the eventual champ at 94 pounds. Bertini rallied to win three straight, outscoring her trio of opponents by a combined 22-5 before dropping her third-place bout, bringing her tournament to a close.

“I was really proud of the way that our girls competed this year,” Massachusetts Wrestling Association women’s director Joe Nugent said. We had eighteen girls competing – our largest team yet. As a group, we won over 40 [total] matches and came home with two All-Americans.”

“We have a really dedicated group of girls that are committed to the sport,” Nugent continued. “Most of the girls on our roster wrestle year-round. Many of them have been at this for a long time, like Jackie, who has been on the mat since she was 10 years old. They have really put in the work and have created a really solid foundation for the future of girl’s wrestling in Massachusetts.”

In nearby Connecticut, a trio of Constitution State standouts earned themselves a spot on their respective podiums on Sunday evening.

Norwalk’s Calli Gilchrist won her third consecutive Fargo medal – this one a second-place finish at 117 pounds in the Junior women’s freestyle tournament. At the 16U level, Milford’s Kayla Batres was second at 106 and Sarah Henckel of Southbury was third at 152 pounds.

Gilchrist came out firing on all cylinders offensively, winning her first five matches and scoring a combined 64 points en route to her finals appearance.

Batres’ path to the finals was similar. After not giving up a single point in her first three bouts and putting up a combined 32 of her own, she authored a pair of gritty five-point-margin decisions to advance to the finals, where she lost a tough 2-2 decision on criteria.

Connecticut’s third medal-winner, Henckel, blanked her first three opponents 10-0, 11-0, and again 10-0, to make the semifinals, where she was pinned and sent to the consolation side of the bracket. There, Henckel was able to regroup and refocus. Henckel won four straight matches to clinch a third-place finish. Over that four-match span, Henckel allowed just one point to her opponents, in her final match of the tournament.

From left, Norwalk’s Calli Gilchris, Southbury’s Sarah Henckel and Milford’s Kayla Batres each won medals at the USA Wrestling Junior and 16U national championships Sunday in North Dakota. (Photo courtesy Sarah Jadach).

The 2023 iteration of the women’s US Marine Corps Junior & 16U Nationals was undoubtedly historic. Not only did we see exceptional results on the mats, and ultimately the awards stand, but also women’s participation soared to new heights in 2023. In fact, participation across all tournaments is expected to be the largest in Fargo’s extensive and storied history.

According to USA Wrestling, there were a record 720 entries in the 16U women’s tournament. In 2011 at the first Cadet National tournament for women, there were 81 entries. The Cadet Nationals were renamed the 16U Nationals in 2019.

“The numbers are off the charts. Girl’s wrestling is still the fastest growing girl’s sport and I am glad to see that Massachusetts is growing inline with other states,” Nugent said of the exponential growth within girl’s wrestling. “I hope that we start seeing more opportunities at the college level for our older girls as they graduate.”

Tweet courtesy of Jason Bryant (@jasonmbryant), Mat Talk Online.

With another Junior & 16U women’s Nationals in the books, We want to say congratulations to all the girls of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont who competed and wrestled hard this weekend, showing the world what New England women’s wrestling is all about! All rosters, records, and results can be found
on FloWrestling
.

Lastly, BTSNE wants to recognize three native New England natives who suited up for different teams while in Fargo this week, but all earned wins.

Alissa Caltagirone (of Maine) battled her way to a Junior fourth-place finish for Team Michigan at 138 pounds. As a team, the Michigan women’s Junior squad finished third behind Illinois and California. Additionally, Team New York 16U teammates Paityn DeLong (144 pounds) and Sky Lewit (152 pounds), who are both from Vermont, picked up win(s) in the FargoDome to help Team New York finish top-11 overall.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the action for the remainder of the week as well. The three days for the boy’s freestyle tournament begins Monday, July 17 and runs through Wednesday night, July 19, with the finals. The Greco-Roman tournament is Friday, July 21 and Saturday, July 22.

You can watch every match, see results, watch post-match interviews, highlight packages,
live on FloWrestling
. Additionally, don’t forget to check out
USA Wrestling’s Special Section
with all the coverage of the 2023 US Marine Corps Junior & 16U Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, July 15-22

Because of your generous and continued support, BTSNE is proud to continue to provide our athletes with unique competition and experiential opportunities on and off the mat. None of this would be possible without your help!

Sincerely,

Beat the Streets New England

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