A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Plum’s Andrew Claassen

By: Abby King
Monday, January 16, 2023 | 9:50 AM

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For some families, high school sports have an incredible meaning beyond wins and losses. Many siblings get the opportunity to play alongside each other in their respective sports and work together.

For Plum senior wrestler Andrew Claassen, both of his siblings wrestle as well — his sisters, Alaina and Addison.

“It’s always been fun to wrestle together,” said Claassen. “Alaina, the older sister, has done very good with her career and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does. Addison does a great job as well, and I’m excited to see where she goes as well.”

Andrew is the son of Michele and Casey Claassen. He’s been a part of the athletic honor roll for four years and has been wrestling for 14 years.

“I chose wrestling because I like the aspects of the sport,” said Claassen. “I love that it is individual and that there are absolutely no excuses.”

Andrew took some time out of his busy schedule to sit down and answer some questions for a senior spotlight Q&A.

What did your offseason look like?

I was at the gym almost every day over the summer. I started eating a lot healthier, and I started taking wrestling more seriously since I knew it was my senior year.

What are your personal goals for this year? What are the team goals?

My personal goals are to have a great season with a winning record and to make it past the WPIAL tournament. As for the team, our goals are to make it to the team PIAA state tournament.

The team, along with you personally, is off to a great start. What are some of the team strengths in your opinion?

I think we are very bonded. We are always there for each other to bring each other up whether we win or lose. We always work on things together as well.

At the Hampton Dawg Duals, the team beat Kiski Area for third place, even though Kiski Area is usually the team favored to win the section title. Are you looking forward to seeing them again?

Absolutely, yes. I think we have a great chance of beating them this year. We beat them once already in the Dawg Duals, and we can do it again.

What is your opinion on Plum being one of the first schools in the area to have a girls wrestling team?

I think it’s amazing. As I said before, my sisters have been wrestling for almost as long as I have. I’m really glad to see that girls wrestling is getting bigger and bigger around here.

How do you feel about your final season with Plum starting?

It’s crazy that I’ve been doing it for so long and that the finish line is here.

What does wrestling mean to you?

I think it’s more than winning and losing. It’s really more about the people I’ve met on the way and the relationships I’ve made and have from the past 14 years

What are your future plans? Is wrestling included?

As much as I would love to wrestle, I feel that my run with it is finished. It’s time to move on to something new. I plan to attend Robert Morris University to major in industrial engineering.

What is one piece of advice you’d like to leave with your teammates?

Don’t compare yourself to others. Every match is different than the last.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

I’d like to thank my dad for always doing research on the opponent so I didn’t have to worry about it. Additionally, thank you for getting me to practice on time and always being in my corner.

Tags: Plum