Plum girls wrestlers having strong seasons ahead of postseason tournaments

By: Michael Love
Saturday, February 3, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Alaina Claassen waited nearly nine months to get back into wrestling competition.

A knee injury suffered last year slowed her progress as a freshman. But when given the OK, she put on a knee brace and wrestled 17 matches, going 14-3 and finishing her season at the state tournament.

Surgery to repair the knee followed that season, and rehab got her back up to speed.

Claassen was cleared to compete in mid-December, and in her first match back, she came up on the short end by pinfall in the 235-pound finals at the Bishop McCort Girls Open.

“I was a little nervous for my knee, and I didn’t have many practices before the match, but it was good to be back,” said Claassen, who has since won nine matches with seven pins and a major decision. “There’s still work to be done to get back up to where I was. The two matches I lost were good learning experiences.”

Claassen is one of several Plum girls having strong seasons as high school girls wrestling in Pennsylvania is ramping up in the first year fully sanctioned by the PIAA.

Plum finished as runner-up to Norwin in the team standings at the Southmoreland Girls Tournament on Jan. 6. The Mustangs earned six medals with Alaina Claassen (235), freshman Addison Claassen (130) and sophomore Saphia Davis (124) taking home titles.

Freshman Haley Leiendecker (124), sophomore Liana Yusko (130) and junior Emma Leiendecker (142) each took third place.

Addison Claassen is enjoying her first varsity season. She is 16-5 overall with 14 pins to her credit.

“This has been a lot of fun, and each match has helped me get better,” she said. “I’ve really improved in my skills. I am more aggressive in matches and more confident.”

Addison Claassen was one of eight from Plum to compete at the Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament Jan. 13 at IUP. She scored points to help the Mustangs take sixth out of 24 teams.

Alaina Claassen suffered a semifinal loss, but she bounced back to take third at 235.

Davis used a pin and two decisions to claim the title at 124.

Davis is one of the top-ranked female wrestlers in the PIAA at 124, as she continues to rack up victories.

“I like to see the rankings to see who else is out there,” Davis said. “It’s a nice feeling to be up there, because I put in all this work, and it’s nice that someone is recognizing that hard work.”

She was 17-1 through a close 3-2 victory over Woodland Hills’ Asia Fowler in a dual meet with the Wolverines at the Fox Chapel Quad on Jan. 18.

Of those 17 wins, nine were by fall, six by decision, and two others by major decision.

Her only loss came against Connellsville’s Trinity Moore by fall (2:57) on Dec. 9.

“Looking back on how I wrestled early on, this now is what I had hoped for,” Davis said. “This is where I wanted to get to. Now I want to take that next step.”

Canon-McMillan’s Bailey Emery joins Davis among those at the top of the 124-pound state rankings. Davis said she wouldn’t mind an opportunity to face Emery at the WPIAL championships set for Feb. 17 at North Allegheny.

Davis said there also was the possibility of facing Emery at last Saturday’s North Allegheny Invitational.

It was the final scheduled event for the Plum wrestlers until WPIALs.

Plum also hopes to be well represented at the West Regional at Canon-McMillan on March 2. It is a main qualifier for the state finals March 7-8 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

The 10 Plum wrestlers who have competed this year have combined for 50 pins, 10 wins by decision and five by major decision.

Emma Leiendecker went into last Wednesday’s 36-18 loss to Norwin 10-6 overall, and of those 10 wins, nine were pins and the other was an 8-0 major decision at Mid-Winter Mayhem.

“Everyone has been there for each other all season,” Davis said. “We’ve all grown together as we have shared in wins and other great moments. It’s such a great team environment.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Plum