This summer, Jaclyn Dehney made her fourth trip to the USA Wrestling US Marine Corps Junior and 16U National Championships.
After she finished the eighth grade, she placed fifth in the 16U Division. Two years ago, she placed second in the Junior Division. Last year, she finished sixth, also in the Junior Division.
On Sunday, July 16, she was standing on the top spot on the podium, holding a giant plaque.
“It’s a big plaque that looks like a stop sign,” she said. “It’s really cool and pretty heavy. Four of the smaller plaques can fit on it.”
The recent Central Catholic High School graduate won the Junior Women’s Freestyle championship at 127 pounds at the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota.
“It’s just a really good feeling,” Dehney said. “My mindset was just really good and I was ready to go.”
The top-seeded Dehney won seven bouts in the tournament, defeating New York’s Emily Sindoni in the finals, 9-4. While Dehney is no stranger to wrestling at the national level, she ran into a different group of opponents this time. This was also her first meeting with Sindoni.
“I watched her latest match and learned what I could,” Dehney said. “Mostly I just got my mind ready.”
The Massachusetts coaching staff, which included her cousin, Matt Dehney, came up with the plan that she executed in the finals.
“We wanted her to keep getting to (Sindoni’s) legs,” Matt said. “We wanted (Jaclyn) to keep taking shots. (Sindoni) was very defensive and Jaclyn was able to keep attacking the legs and getting points.”
Matt coaches Doughboy Wrestling in Lowell, where Jaclyn has trained since the beginning.
“She works extremely hard,” Matt said. “Her technique has always been extremely good and lately she’s gotten better at the mental game.”
Said Jaclyn, “I improved a little in my positioning. There were some things that needed to be fixed. I’ve worked a lot more on my technique.”
The experience she gained in three previous trips to Fargo also helped her handle the atmosphere. The tournament takes place in a domed football stadium, where the perennial FCS power North Dakota State Bison play their home games. The field is filled with mats. Music plays throughout the tournament. During the finals, the lights and the sounds can be overwhelming.
“When you run out to the mat for the finals, your name is in lights,” Jaclyn said. “You run through smoke. I don’t really care about those things, but it can throw you off your game. I don’t let that stuff get to me.”
Before winning in Fargo, Jaclyn’s resume was already quite impressive. She won a Gold Medal at the 2021 Pan American Championships and she’s a two-time Super 32 champion.
When Jaclyn competed for Central Catholic, she won 101 matches. Competing in the MIAA boys tournament, Jaclyn placed fourth in the Div. 1 North sectionals last winter and fifth in the Div. 1 state tournament.
“I’m really proud of what I’ve done,” she said.
Said Central Catholic coach Jamie Durkin, “Jackie is one of a kind. The four years that she’s been here have been nothing but positive. We’ve named one of our end-of-year awards after her. If that doesn’t say something about her I don’t know what does.”
Jaclyn’s younger sister, Ashley, who will be a senior at Central Catholic in the fall, is a two-time MIAA All-State girls champion.
After winning the nationals, Jaclyn quickly returned to training. While many of her high school friends might be relaxing during the summer, she’s back at Doughboy getting ready for more tournaments. That’s the way she wants it.
“This is my fun,” Jaclyn said.
Jaclyn will be taking a gap year before college and continue competing at the national level. She’s planning on competing at the World Team Trials and at qualifying tournaments for the 2024 US Olympic Trials.