Moving from judo to wrestling, Tessa Plana used all of her strengths to capture the women’s wrestling national title at 63 kilograms.
Before entering wrestling as a freshman in high school, Plana was focused on judo, a modern form of Japanese martial arts. The object of judo is to throw one’s opponent to the ground or force an opponent to submit by locking joints.
“I had been in judo since I was little,” said Plana. “I originally wanted to start wrestling to improve my judo skills but instead, the throws that I had learned in judo really helped my wrestling.”
Plana, a freshman from Coppell, Texas, defeated the No. 1 and No. 2 seeded wrestlers in pursuit for the individual crown at the WCWA Women’s College Wrestling Championships. Oklahoma City University also captured the team national title, upending Cumberland for the first time in the national championships.
“I was pretty intimidated to wrestle the No. 2 seed, Paige Rife,” Plana said. “I had wrestled her before and lost. The matchup was all mental for me.”
Plana met top-ranked Danielle Lappage in the finals, upsetting her 0-1, 1-1, 5-3. Plana won the second period to force a third and final period for the title.
“I didn’t want to think about it too much because I didn’t want to become overconfident after my win against the No. 2 seed,” Plana said. “I knew I had a good chance during the second period. I kept waiting for an opening to appear so I could throw, but those don’t always come. I was able to find my opening in the matchup which let me use my strengths against her.”
Plana also qualified for the U.S. team in the World Team Trials because of her victory in the national championship.
“It was really great to win my national title, but it feels even better that the team won and that we are all national champions,” Plana said. “Going to the trials is really exciting. All I know is that I have a lot more training to do before I go.”
OCU coach Archie Randall said, “Tessa is a great example of the type of student-athlete we have on the young women’s wrestling team. She is just a freshman with her goals still the 2012 Olympics.”
Plana is a freshman with much ahead of her, not only as a Star, but as an Olympic hopeful.
“Wrestling is a huge part of my life right now,” said Plana. “I would love to go to the Olympics in 2012. It scares me to think about it sometimes because I don’t want to set my goals too high, but that is the ultimate goal and something I will continue to work towards.”
More on Tessa:
Last book I read: Same Kind of Different as Me
Career plans: Optometrist
Favorite candy: Reese’s
I never leave home without: My phone
My worst fear: Not reaching my goals
