Plum trio blazing trail for girls wrestling in district

By: Michael Love
Sunday, February 20, 2022 | 11:01 AM

High school girls wrestling in Pennsylvania is gaining momentum on a weekly basis.

In December, North Allegheny and Canon-McMillan faced off in the first-ever girls dual match between WPIAL schools.

At around the same time, Kiski Area became the 31st school in Pennsylvania to sign on to the movement to someday have girls wresting sanctioned by the PIAA.

There also is growing interest at Plum to join those ranks, and a trio of current Mustangs junior high wrestlers — eighth-graders Alaina Claassen, Saphia Davis and Madison Killmeyer — hope to be at the forefront of those plans.

“It would be awesome down the road for people to look back on us and see what we were able to do to help bring a girls wrestling program to Plum,” said Davis, who is her first year of competitive wrestling for Plum after attending a few practices in the past.

“I’ve talked to a few of my friends about wrestling, and I think there have been some others at Plum who have wrestled in the past. Some of them have taken it into consideration. I think it would be a lot of fun to see it grow into a full team.”

“I think there is excitement for the girls and others to have that opportunity to compete with the other schools that have a girls team,” Plum junior high coach Brian Walker said.

“We just need to get more girls involved. I know there are some girls who used to wrestle who stopped when they got into junior high. I think it will happen with Alaina, Saphia and Maddie being there as visible examples. It’s a process with all of the steps needed to be done to get it sanctioned, but a lot of people are ready to step up and make it happen.”

While Claassen, Davis and Killmeyer compete against predominantly boys throughout the season, there have been a few opportunities in girls tournaments.

Claassen, who has been wrestling competitively for close to a decade and owns four girls state championships at various age and weight divisions, won both her junior high and high school divisions at the girls Powerade tournament at Canon McMillan in December.

She went 4-0 in the high school 163-174 weight class with three pins in a combined 1:43 and a 9-0 major decision.

At the South Fayette tournament a week earlier, Claassen, facing all boys opponents, went 4-1 at 170 and placed third overall.

“Alaina has been well-established in wrestling in the area and throughout the state for a long time,” Walker said.

“She works hard in the weight room and goes to two or three practices a day. She works her butt off when she’s in there for us, and she does whatever we tell her she needs to do. She pushes herself really hard every single day. As her talents and abilities grow, she keeps getting stronger and stronger.

“She has earned so much respect from the other teams and the boys wrestlers she has faced. It might not always start out that way, but soon enough, they realize they have to really wrestle or they’re going to get pinned.”

Davis and Killmeyer said they both have come to respect Claassen’s ability and leadership both on and off the mat.

“I look up to Alaina a lot,” said Davis, who finished fourth with a 1-3 record in the junior high 90-107 division at Powerade.

“She’s always there to help us in practice and before matches. I can always ask her questions. She’s a really great role model to have. She is pretty soft-spoken, but when she gets on the mat, it’s a different story. She lets her wrestling do the talking.”

Davis also picked up a win in three matches at the South Fayette tournament.

“The practices have been tough, like I expected, and I have gone up against some really great wrestlers in tournaments,” Davis said.

“I’ve had a lot of fun so far. It’s been a really good experience.”

Killmeyer gave wrestling a shot for the first time this year on the recommendation of a friend who had past wrestling experience.

“It was a little weird at first,” said Killmeyer, who picked up a win in Plum’s dual match with Penn Hills.

“I didn’t expect to do anything at that first practice, so I was in jeans. But I feel I’ve come a long way since then. I have a lot of room to improve from where I am now. I didn’t think I would be doing something like this, but I hope to continue with it. With a team hopefully starting, it will give other girls a chance to see what they can do and have fun. It’s pretty exciting.”

The junior high season for Plum was to conclude Saturday with the WPIAL championships at Norwin.

Walker said that Davis, Claassen and Killmeyer plan to continue wrestling toward the Keystone State Championships in Erie on March 18-20.

The regional qualifying tournament is March 6 in Monroeville.

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