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SOARING HIGHER THAN THE REST!!!

01/25/2025, 5:15pm EST
By NY-USAW Media Team

Rocky Point Ladies Take Home the 2025 Journeymen NYS Girls Duals Crown

OVERVIEW/FINALS VS SHEN

Picked by 58 percent of our pundits in yesterday's pool question; it was the Lady Eagles of Rocky Point emerging as the NYS Queens today at the 2025 Journeymen Girls State Duals!!

Sweeping their three appearances by scores of 39-25, 45-17, and 38-18 over the likes of Phoenix, Minisink Valley, and Shenendehowa; the Suffolk County based program demonstrated depth and powerful throughout their line-up...

Prevailing in 8 of the 12 individual bouts in the crossover finale against the Plains(wo)men; huge efforts were delivered by Julianna Hernandez (2024 Girls State Champion), Lily Blenk, Ava Capogna (2023 State 4th), Julia Zuchowska (2x State Qualifier), and Madison Hernandez (2024 State Qualifier) who got their arms raised in five of seven matches from 120-165 to turn an initial 3-1 deficit on the scoreboard into a commanding 24-13 advantage...

Nationally ranked [Julianna] Hernandez (120) blew open a 6-3 lead in the 2nd period when she struck for two takedowns and three turns to earn the 14-3 TF over 2024 State Qualifier, Makenzie Harbour....

Tallying four takedowns (including a 4pt double-leg to make the score 6-0), Blenk (126) pitched a 10-0 shutout against Olivia Fox....

After a loss at 132 pounds, Capogna converted a quick TD to go up 2-0 and then utilized a half to stick Haley Miller at the 46-second mark...

2024 State runner-up/2024 Pan-American U15 Gold medalist, Ava Guilmette keeping Shen's hopes alive when she banked the 16-second stick of Bridget Myers to make the score 13-12;  any momentum established for the S2 powerhouse was short-lived as Zuchowska fought off of her back (headlocked to go down 4-0) for a 1pt reversal and then from par terre was able to maximize a power-half to put and keep Karley St. Gelais on her back until the slap of the mat echoed at the 1:11 mark!!

[Madison] Hernandez followed suit with a half of her own, as she needed just 52 seconds to glue Isabella LaScala!

Isha Bouicicaut accepted a forfeit at 185 to mathematically clinch the dub (28-12 with just three matches to go) before Angelica Smiech and Clover Van Der Velden (2023 State Qualifier) closed strong with respective verdicts of 10-0 TF and pin in 1:33 (up 7-2) versus Isabella Palleschi and Elizabeth Bailey at 100 and 107 pounds...

In defeat, it was Madeline Hill (2024 S2 Girls 4th) collecting a blue chip head-to-head victory when she tallied a pair of 2nd period takedowns to claim the 9-6 decision over 2023 State Qualifier, Ophelia Rosenthal-Vincenti!


POOL B VS. MINISINK VALLEY

An aura permeated throughout the area after RP ran away with the triumph over the prohibitive favorites/Unofficial Defending NYS Girls Team State Tournament champion Warriors!!

Relying on three separate mini winning streaks, the "Strong Island" representatives came away with individual heroics in 10 of 13 contests, including marquee performances out of Blenk and Zuchowska...

Squaring off against 2x State placer/2023 Champion, Sara Pauls, at 126 pounds, Blenk surrendered an initial 4pt throw at the onset of the bout; but then clawed back to score the next 14 unanswered points en route to to statement-making 14-4 technical fall that made the team score, 13-6 in favor of the Eagles...

At 152 pounds, Zuchowska turned a back-and-forth barnburner (8-6 lead) into a "quick 5" when she spun behind for a takedown and then used a power-half to pin MV's Brooke Besson with just :03 remaining in the 1st period in their collision of returning State Qualifiers to further increase the team margin to 28-11... 

Sandwiched in the middle of these aforementioned clutch conquests would be the contributions of Anja Rosenthal-Vincenti (132) and Capogna (138)...

The second of a double dose of Rosenthal-Vincenti magic (Ophelia notched a 10-0 TF against Vanessa Tepper at 114 pounds); it was Anja getting the better end of what was perhaps the most entertaining match of the day; as down 15-11, she'd toss Avery Wingen to the mat for the TD and then inserted the half to earn the fall in a time of 4:35!!!

Capogna when hunting with the headlock and found gold with the move at the 38-second mark of the 1st period against Kenzie Welch!

With only a forfeit at 235 pounds (received by returning NYS placer, Patricia Deslandes) breaking the chain; it would be [Madison] Hernandez, Bouicicaut, Zoey Hernandez, and Smiech putting the icing on the "w" when they delivered wins in the final four contested weight classes (165, 185, 94, and 100)....

Hernandez pancaked Caitlin McIlroy off of a 50/50 position for the fall in 38 seconds...

Her match with Kiara Dorado sitting at 6-4 at the end of the 1st period, Bouicicaut would defend a headlock attempt and then instead connect with a throw of her own to go up 10-4 before forcing her foe to succumb :37 into the 2nd period!!

Completing a Hernandez trifecta; Zoey overcame a 5-0 hole by accruing three takedowns in the final 3:00 to steal the 7-5 decision against Zoe Ford!

Four TDs and a 2pt gut did the trick for Smiech in a 10-0 goose-egging of Makenna Matone (2024 S9 runner-up)!!!

The reigning ruler of the Empire, [Julianna] Hernandez also recorded a pin earlier in the proceedings as she required 44 seconds to get on and off the mat versus Adrianna Geczi, in their 120-pound meeting!!


POOL B VS. PHOENIX

Their opening appearance proving to pose the biggest obstacle; the :"usual suspects" inflicted much of the damage to propel them to  the hard fought win over a determined nemesis from Section III....

After Smiech kicked off the dual by posting a 12-1 TF over Agnes Terpening to give the Eagles the immediate 4-1 edge on the scoreboard; it was [Ophelia] Rosenthal-Vincenti registering one of her finest scholastic career victory when down 4-0, she was able to locked up a bundle to turn 2024 State 4th, Lexus Bonnie to her back for the fall at the 2:11 mark....

A pin of Van Der Velden by Sofia Muntz in a showdown of State Qualifiers at 114 cutting the RP cushion to 9-5; it was [Julianna] Hernandez and Blenk responding by each hammering home sub-1:00 falls at 120 and 126 over Lyric Bonnie and Briana Nygen, to again establish some sense of separation (19-5)...

A loss by tech at 132 followed up by Capogna getting a walk-over at 138 setting the table at 24-9; Bridget Myers, joined the party and put her stamp on dub when after stuffing a shot attempt and going behind for the TD; she ran a bar to induce the 1:02 sticking of Lilly Amidon, at 145 pounds!

[Madison] Hernandez was responsible for the final "contested" victory of the dual, as she built a 6-0 advantage on her way to a :41 fall over Kensley Kurtz!

Paige Bouton happily stepped to the center of the mat to receive a forfeit at 94 pounds to get her name in the win column on Saturday!

The collective outcome not what she desired; the performance of Phoenix's Ella Gonzales (2024 State 5th) did not go overlooked; as she pinned Zuchowska at 152 in an affair of seasoned NYSPHSAA vets!!


PATH TO THE HARDWARE (BOXSCORES):

POOL B (RD 2): Rocky Point-39; Phoenix-25

WEIGHT CLASS WINNING WRESTLER RESULT LOSING WRESTLER SCORE
100 Angelica Smiech (RP) VSU Agnes Terpening (P) 12-1
107 Ophelia Rosenthal-Vincenti (RP) VFA Lexus Bonni (P) 2:11
114 Sofia Munetz (P) VFA Clover Van Der Velden (RP) 1:58
120 Julianna Hernandez (RP) VFA Lyric Bonnie (P) 0:10
126 Lily Blenk (RP) VFA Briana Nygen (P) 0:41
132 Aubree Dignean (P) VSU Jisselle Menjivar (RP) 10-0
138 Ava Capogna (RP) Wins by Forfeit
145 Bridget Myers (RP) VFA Lily Amidon (P) 1:02
152 Ella Gonzales (P) VFA Julia Zuchowska (RP) 0:49
165 Madison Hernandez (RP) VFA Kensley Kurtz (P) 0:41
185 Bailey Edwards (P) VFA Isha Bouicicaut (RP) 4:01
235 Sander Miner (P) Wins by Forfeit
94 Paige Bouton (RP) Wins by Forfeit

POOL B (RD 3): Rocky Point-45; Minisink Valley-17

WEIGHT CLASS WINNING WRESTLER RESULT LOSING WRESTLER SCORE
107 Keira Filip (MV) VFA Clover Van Der Velden (RP) 0:27
114 Ophelia Rosenthal-Vincenti (RP) VSU Vanessa Tepper (MV) 10-0
120 Julianna Hernandez (RP) VFA Adrianna Geczi (MV) 0:44
126 Lily Blenk (RP) VSU Sara Pauls (MV) 14-4
132 Anja Rosenthal-Vincenti (RP) VFA Avery Wingen (MV) 4:35
138 Ava Capogna (RP) VFA Kenzie Welch (MV) 0:38
145 Jaida Macaluso (MV) VFA Bridget Myers (RP) 1:40
152 Julia Zuchowska (RP) VFA Brooke Besson (MV) 2:57
165 Madison Hernandez (RP) VFA Caitlin McIlroy (MV) 0:38
185 Isha Bouicicaut (RP) VFA Kiara Dorado (MV) 3:37
235 Patricia Deslandes (MV) Wins by Forfeit
94 Zoey Hernandez (RP) VPO Zoe Ford (MV) 7-5
100 Angelica Smiech (RP) VSU Makenna Matone (MV) 10-0

FINALS: Rocky Point-38; Shenendehowa-18

WEIGHT CLASS WINNING WRESTLER RESULT LOSING WRESTLER SCORE
114 Madalyn Hill (S) VPO Ophelia Rosenthal-Vincenti (RP) 9-6
120 Julianna Hernandez (RP) VSU Makenzie Harbour (S) 14-3
126 Lily Blenk (RP) VSU Olivia Fox (S) 10-0
132 Kaitlyn Young (S) VSU Anja Rosenthal-Vincenti (RP) 10-0
138 Ava Capogna (RP) VFA Haley Miller (S) 0:46
145 Ava Guilmette (S) VFA Bridget Myers (RP) 0:16
152 Julia Zuchowska (RP) VFA Karley St. Gelais (S) 1:11
165 Madison Hernandez (RP) VFA Isabella LaScala (S) 0:52
185 Isha Bouicicaut (RP) Wins by Forfeit
235 NO MATCH DOUBLE FORFEIT
94 Cecilia Popolizio (S) VFA Zoey Hernandez (RP) 2:01
100 Angelica Smiech (RP) VSU Isabella Palleschi (S) 10-0
107 Clover Van Der Velden (RP) VFA Elizabeth Bailey (S) 1:33

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