Team Massachusetts took 41 boys and girls to compete in the 2021 US Marine Corps Junior &16U Nationals in Fargo, ND.  This was a special year for Massachusetts Wrestling as boys and girls from around the state came together as a team to train and compete.   Men’s Freestyle Director and boys team head coach Matt Dehney said, “This group really set the bar for future MA National Teams. We came home with 5 All-Americans and a national finalist.  We won a lot of matches -- some of our kids got up to 15 to 18 matches between both Freestyle and Greco.”   Women’s Director and women’s team head coach Joe Nugent followed with, “I am really proud of the way that this group of young men and women represented the State of Massachusetts both on and off the mat.  We had an outstanding group this year with only a few seniors so many of these wrestlers will be back.” 

On the mat, Team Mass had 5 All-Americans and a national finalist, which is the high water mark for the state in recent years.  For the boys, Isaac Paulino started things off taking 7th at 106 pounds in Junior division.  Paulino went 5-2 on his way to placing and did not give up a point in his five victories. Paulino will be attending Wyoming Seminary next year.  Tristan Kemp came back a two-time All-American taking 6th at 285 in Freestyle and 8th at 285 in Greco.  Kemp is a Senior who will be attending West Virginia to continue his wrestling career. Kemp lost two matches to Jamikael Lytle from Califormia in Freestyle, but avenged those losses with a convincing 10-1 victory over Lytle in Greco.  

On the girls’ side, Daniella Nugent took 7th at Cadet 117.  Nugent, only an 8th grader, will be heading to Philips Andover to wrestle for Coach Kassie Archembault.  Nugent needed a last second take down in her blood round match against Leilani Lazaro from California to secure her spot on the podium. Jaclyn Dehney had 4 pins on route to the national finals.  Dehney, who took 2nd at Junior 117, is a Cadet World Team member who recently won gold at the Pan-Am games in Mexico City.  She will continue her outstanding high school career at Central Catholic.

The team had several out outstanding performance, including Jimmy Harrington collected eight wins and scored over 85 point, but just missed placing in a massive 256 man bracket. Harrington collected another three victories in Greco. Cadets Matt Bothello and Jude Correa each won five matches in Feestyle and three more each in Greco for eight wins in the tournament. Unfortunately, injuries became a factor for Team Mass. Josh Cordio, Antonio Ramos and Logan Farnsworth were all on track to place when they were forced to withdraw with injuries.  

Team Massachusetts organizers want to thank all the coaches who volunteered their time to help these kids achieve their goals as well as the Massachusetts Wrestling Association and National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Mass Chapter, who helped make this trip possible. Finally, we want to thank all the parents who allowed their children to go on this trip and attend the camps, including parents who contributed as chaperones, photographers and drivers!