Kiski Area, Plum wrestlers looking to join 1st class of 3-time WPIAL girls champs

By: Michael Love
Friday, February 20, 2026 | 5:48 PM

Five wrestlers at Saturday’s WPIAL girls wrestling championships at Mt. Lebanon hope to earn the distinction of becoming the district’s first three-time champions.

Two of them are from the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Kiski Area senior Ava Golding, a Pitt-Johnstown commit, and Plum senior Alaina Claassen, who will wrestle at Washington & Jefferson, will join Norwin senior Josephine Dollman, Moon junior Haley Smarsh and Norwin junior Octavia Walker in pursuit of a third straight gold medal when wrestling begins at 9 a.m.

The 142-pound weight class could see a clash of champions as Golding moved up from 136 and Dollman is down from 148.

Golding would be excited for a possible matchup with Dollman, but she knows there is work to do before that can happen.

“There’s always that pressure in these tournaments, but I just try to focus on each match and not get ahead of myself,” said Golding, who enters the WPIAL tournament as the top seed with a 24-1 record. The lone loss came against a wrestler from Maryland in the finals at Powerade in late December.

“I am very confident I can win my third WPIAL title. I don’t pay too much attention to who is in my bracket. I just worry about what I have to do and trust in my work and my abilities.”

Golding owns 90 victories over the past three years.

Claassen is 27-2 and the No. 1 seed at 190. She captured the 190-pound title last year and went on to finish runner-up at the PIAA Western Regional and the PIAA tournament.

She has won 13 matches in a row since a loss to Erie Northwestern’s Charli Rea at the Mid-Winter Mayhem tournament Jan. 10 at IUP.

Claassen is undefeated against WPIAL opponents, having pinned Peters Township junior Liliana Giulianelli, the No. 2 seed, in 25 seconds in the third-place match at Mid-Winter Mayhem. Claassen owns four wins over Giulianelli this season.

“Obviously, a three-peat would be awesome,” Claassen said. “I am ready to go out there and give it my all as always in my last run with all my teammates. I am excited. I understand that everyone will be going after me, but knowing that I will face some really good wrestlers (Saturday) gives me a lot of motivation and makes the wins that much sweeter.”

All 13 WPIAL champions from last year are back.

One of them is Norwin’s Walker, who won the 2025 title at 170.

But she is the No. 2 seed this year to Kiski Area junior Alyssa Tresco, who enters her second WPIAL tournament 22-1 overall. Tresco beat Walker, 2-1, in a semifinal match at Mid-Winter Mayhem.

Tresco took third at 142 last year.

“I am so excited and ready to go (Saturday),” she said. “I’ve been putting in the work, so I am ready to see it all show itself. Being the top see does make me a little anxious, but I should be fine because I am just going to go out there and wrestle like I have been to where I got that top seed.”

Tresco’s lone loss came against Northwestern junior Cyndey Rea, 6-3, in the 170-pound final at Powerade.

She returned the favor at Mid-Winter Mayhem with an 11-2 major decision in the final.

The top six finishers in each weight class will advance to the PIAA West Regional on Feb. 28 at Mt. Lebanon. From there, the top four will qualify for the PIAA finals.

Knoch senior Braylee Ireland, a W&J commit, is seeking her second 118-pound WPIAL title in as many seasons. Last year, she defeated Mt. Lebanon senior Paige Jox, 7-3, for gold before going on to win the PIAA Western Regional title and taking sixth at states to finish with a 27-9 record.

Jox moved up to 148 this year and is the top seed with a 25-6 record.

If Ireland reaches this year’s final, Canon-McMillan junior Marlee Solomon, the 2025 WPIAL champion at 112, could be there to greet her.

Solomon, 28-0 this year and 67-3 in her first two seasons, is the top seed. Ireland, with a 15-4 record, is second.

“Braylee is excited,” Knoch coach Logan Downes said. “She is putting in a lot of work, as all the girls are. She is more focused now than since I’ve started coaching her. There is a tall task at hand that could be at the end of the tunnel. But she is not looking too far ahead. Her bracket is the biggest at 32 girls, and there are a lot of good wrestlers, so it could be a long day. It will be important to focus on every period and every point because every point will count so much.”

Plum senior Saphia Davis owns one of the most decorated runs in the WPIAL.

The No. 2 seed this year at 130 behind defending champion Smarsh (30-3), Davis brings a 22-5 record to WPIALs in search of her second WPIAL title.

She won gold at 124 in 2024 before winning the regional title and taking fourth at states. Last year, Davis, a UPJ commit with a 77-16 record over the past three years, finished runner-up to Smarsh before placing third at regionals and seventh at states.

“Winning a WPIAL title is one of the biggest things you can do,” Davis said. “I experienced that before, and I want that again. I have a lot of confidence. I’ve done a lot of preparation in the past few weeks since I last wrestled (Smarsh) to get to where I need to be against her.”

Smarsh pinned Davis in 3:24 of the 130-pound finals at the North Allegheny Girls Invitational on Jan. 31.

Eleven other wrestlers from the A-K Valley received seeds (top eight) for their respective tournaments.

Valley freshman Naryiah Carnahan will make her WPIAL debut Saturday as the No. 3 seed at 106. She posted a 12-3 record in the regular season with eight of the 12 wins coming by pin.

Burrell junior Ella Campbell is after her third WPIAL medal (fourth in 2024 and sixth in 2025) as she enters the 112-pound bracket as the No. 4 seed with a 24-3 record.

Fox Chapel senior Lily McLaughlin made headlines in the fall as she scored the game-winning goal for the Foxes girls soccer team in their 1-0 WPIAL Class 3A championship victory over South Fayette at Highmark Stadium.

McLaughlin again hopes to make headlines as the No. 4 seed at 136. She carries a 5-4 record as she goes after her first WPIAL medal.

Plum junior Addison Claassen, the fifth seed at 124, is 20-15 overall and gunning for her third WPIAL medal. She was sixth at 130 in 2024 and fifth at 124 in 2025.

Fox Chapel junior Lauren Bachman is 18-10 as the No. 5 seed at 142. She placed fifth last year at 136.

Burrell junior Katie Koehler, sixth at 142 last year, is 21-8 overall and the No. 6 seed in her return to the 142-pound bracket.

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