MT. LEBANON — When Seneca Valley senior wrestler Hannah Hornick stepped on the mat for the WPIAL Girls Wrestling Individual Championships 190-pound title bout Saturday at Mt. Lebanon High School, she saw more than just a familiar face.

Her opponent was Plum senior Alaina Claassen, a good friend of Hornick’s. Both are committed to wrestle at Washington & Jefferson College.

“I’d never faced her in an actual match, but we practice against each other in club and even at her house,” Hornick said. “She knows so much more about wrestling than me. I knew if I made a mistake, she would emphasize it.”

Claassen, who was runner-up in the state last year, turned an early takedown into a pin of Hornick with 10 seconds left in the first period to move her season record to 30-2. Hornick will enter next week’s PIAA West Regional tournament as district runner-up.

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“I’m not saying I had no chance against her, but I'm not upset about losing,” Hornick said. “I’ve already moved on.”

Hornick, who placed fourth in the WPIAL at 170 pounds last year, pinned Woodland Hills’ Molly Howard, North Allegheny’s Heidi Radford and nationally-ranked Liliana Giulianelli of Peters Township en route to Saturday’s title bout.

“Moving up a weight class was a bit of a risk, but Hannah continued to put in the work, and things just clicked for her,” SV assistant coach Caden Leighty said. “She beat some very good wrestlers today, and I’m happy for her.”

Hornick is now 20-9 on the season.

“Up until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t really happy with the way my season had gone,” she said. “We wrestled at some big tournaments, and I didn’t do very well. But on senior night, I thought to myself, “I’ve got only the postseason left, and I want to make the most of it.”

Knoch senior Braylee Ireland entered Saturday’s tournament as the defending champion at 118 pounds. She earned third place this time, going 4-1 on the day.

“I think I’m definitely a better wrestler this year,” Ireland said. “I’ve just had to work through a few things mentally during the season.”

Ireland, the No. 2 seed, flashed a bright smile as she stood on the podium to accept her third-place medal, which carries with it a berth into regionals.

“Whether or not she came out of here a WPIAL champion or not, it’s her senior year, and I just want her to enjoy herself and at the end of the day, smile,” Knoch coach Logan Downes said. “When she puts in the work, goes out and leaves everything on the mat, she smiles.”

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Ireland was forced to withdraw from the Butler Tournament in late January due to light-headedness.

“We figured out it was because of my blood sugar, and I’ve had to watch what I eat since then,” she said. “It’s under control.”

Other than a recent scrimmage, Saturday’s event was her first chance to compete in almost a month.

She earned a major decision over West Allegheny’s Alaina Leonard and pinned Butler’s Brin Zehmisch before losing by fall to Derry’s Kaila Keesecker in the semifinals.

Ireland improved her record to 19-5.

“Winning the WPIAL last year, she definitely felt pressure from that,” Downes said. “At the end of the year, I want her to be able to say that her senior season was memorable. It has been, and she’s not done yet.”

Kaeleigh Tuell left Mt. Lebanon High School with a third-place finish at 148 pounds and a season record that now stands at 25-9. This, after going 21-16 as a freshman last year at Seneca Valley.

“She’s just in her second year of wrestling, and one thing that stands out about her is her aggressiveness,” Leighty said. “She consistently takes girls down early and causes them to panic.”

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Tuell’s lone defeat Saturday came by major decision in a semifinal to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Paige Jox of Mt. Lebanon.

“I don’t worry about numbers,” Tuell said of seedings. “I try to not overthink things, just go out and wrestle. I’ve been working for today all season, and I think I came in with the right mindset.”

The top six finishers in each weight class advance to regionals, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28, at Mt. Lebanon High School. Making that trip for the second straight week will be SV’s Adele Shih-Calabro (fourth place at 112 pounds), Knoch’s Kenna Watson (fourth at 100), Butler’s Anastasia Manchester (sixth at 136) and Monica Osborne (sixth at 235).

Manchester reached the quarterfinals before falling to Avella’s Abigail Dolanch. Then, in the fourth round of consolations, she injured her back in a loss to Fort Cherry's Brookelyn McClain.

Butler coach Nathan Bottiger held Manchester out of the fifth-place bout.

“I know she wanted to be out there,” Bottiger said. “But it didn’t make sense, with her already clinching a spot at regionals. We wanted to give her some rest, and we’re confident that she can be ready for regionals.”