Plum girls wrestling trio advances to PIAA regional tournament

By: Michael Love
Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Alaina Claassen knew Valley’s Arianna Bernard well by the time they met for the 190-pound championship at the WPIAL girls wrestling championships Feb. 15 at North Allegheny High School.

Claasen, a Plum junior and last year’s WPIAL champion in the 235-pound weight class, beat Bernard twice during the regular season, the first time in overtime and the second by fall.

The third bout was close into the third period, but Claassen, who was battling the effects of the flu up to and during the tournament, was able to maintain her lead and finish off a 3-0 victory.

“We knew each other very well and know each other’s moves,” Claassen said. “It was just a matter of me going out there and wrestling smart. I just tried to eat something, drink something and get some rest between my matches. I felt as good as I could for (the championship match).

“I didn’t know what to expect because of how I was feeling. I wasn’t feeling anywhere close to 100%. I just trusted my experience to help me get through it.”

The win not only put Claassen back at the top of the medals podium, it also solidified her standings for Saturday’s PIAA Western Regional at North Allegheny.

Claassen will join junior Saphia Davis, the WPIAL runner-up at 130 pounds, and sophomore Addison Claassen, the fifth-place finisher at 124, in the Plum contingent at regionals which is slated to begin at 10 a.m.

The top four finishers in each weight class at the regional tournament will advance to the PIAA championships March 6-8 at Hershey’s Giant Center.

Claassen fashioned two quick pins in the championship bracket to reach the finals. She now is 27-1 overall, and 20 of her 27 wins this season have come by fall.

Claassen now hopes to add another regional title to the first- and second-place finishes she already owns. The two-time PIAA place winner said she looks forward to the possibility of facing Bernard again in the regional tournament.

Bernard heads into regionals with a 20-5 record.

“The goal for me is to stay healthy and also tweak some things that I might have done wrong at WPIALs,” Claassen said. “I just want to give it all I’ve got.”

Davis made it to the WPIAL finals at 130 pounds before falling to Moon’s Haley Smarsh, 12-1, in the championship match.

The match, Davis said, was closer than the final score might indicate. The score was 4-1 before Smarsh executed an eight-point takedown and nearfall combination to extend the lead.

“(Smarsh) is very strong, and she has a very high pace,” said Davis, who heads to regionals with a 16-4 overall record.

“It is a challenge to set up my offense whenever I am wrestling her.”

Davis also suffered a 13-4 loss to Smarsh in the finals at 130 at the North Allegheny Invitational on Feb. 1.

But she was able to fashion a 3-1 record at WPIALs with two technical falls and a pin over the first three rounds.

“The matches leading up to the finals helped me get prepared,” Davis said. “When I wrestled Haley, I thought I wrestled well. It wasn’t as one-sided as people might think by just seeing the score.”

Davis hopes to capture her second-consecutive regional title. She won the 124-pound crown a year ago before going on to place fourth at the PIAA tournament.

“I am excited for regionals,” Davis said. “It is going to be a fight this year to get top four to go on to states. There are a lot of good girls at 130. I am really looking forward to just getting out there and wrestling.”

Davis said she also is grateful for the opportunity to get on the mat and compete after recovering from a concussion which took three weeks of her season from late December to early January.

“I was glad I was able to get back when I did because I got some good competition in before getting to (WPIALs),” she said.

“I am excited to be where I am feeling 100%.”

Addison Claassen moved down to the 124-pound weight class from 130 last year after placing sixth at the WPIAL tournament.

This year at WPIALs, she returned to the medals podium after pinning Valley’s Paula Sanchez in 4:24 of their match for fifth place.

“I was definitely hoping for a better (place) finish, but I think I will be able to beat the girls I lost to if I face them again at regionals,” said Addison Claassen, who finished 4-2 in six WPIAL bouts.

It was the first time she and Sanchez faced each other in an official high school match, though they had sparred with each other in club practices.

“I was thinking I would go up against her at tournaments we were at together, but I am surprised this was the first time,” she said.

“It was a tough finals match against her. Paula is a really good wrestler.”

All four of Addison Claassen’s WPIAL wins came by pinfall. Of her 24 wins this season (24-12), 22 have been pins.

She now is hoping for a regional top-four finish and a trip to states after not placing at regionals last year.

“I really want to go to states,” she said. “That was one of the biggest goals I set for myself at the start of the season. I have worked hard to prepare for this. I am really excited.”

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.

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