Kennett’s Jaffe, West’s Landrum finish 1-2 at girls’ state wrestling championships

HARRISBURG >> Though girls wrestling is not yet a PIAA sanctioned sport, the ladies still received a chance to shine at the MyHouse PA Girls Folkstyle State Championships on March 13 at Central Dauphin High School.
Nearly 300 girls — over double the amount of entries from last year’s event — vied for titles across 14 weight classes. A pair of local girls — Kennett’s Haylie Jaffe, and Downingtown West’s Sienna Landrum — finished 1-2 in the 124-pound class, with Jaffe taking home her second straight state championship.

“It was really a fun event,” said Jaffe. “It was exciting to see the number of girls double, and get to wrestle more matches. It’s great to see so many girls getting involved in wrestling.”
The final bout marked the second time in as many weeks that the pair squared off for a championship. Jaffe came away with a 9-1 major decision in the finals of the NE Regionals the week prior. The two are very familiar with one another, being frequent training partners at local clubs.
“We are used to training together, so we know each other well,” said Jaffe. “It can be difficult when you know each other’s styles so well. But it was nice to see another local girl in the finals.”
Landrum was unsurprised that she’d be standing across from Jaffe once again, this time in the state finals.
“I kind of knew we would be there again at states,” said Landrum. “Haylie is a tough wrestler, she is one of the best. Being in the finals is a little nerve wracking regardless of who you are going against. Even more so when it is a friend, but I just try in those few minutes during the match to just see her as an opponent and not a friend, then as soon as the match is over, we’re friends again.”
The parents have a slightly different perspective.
“It was a different and weird feeling I’ve never had before when watching Haylie wrestle,” said Haylie’s dad, Josh Jaffe. “Usually I just want Haylie to go out and crush her opponent. It was weird that I didn’t want to see her beat Sienna too badly.”

When the whistle blew, it was down to business. Jaffe opened the scoring with a first-period takedown, shooting in on a single, before switching off to a double to finish. Landrum took the down position to start the second, and Jaffe, rode out the period to hold the 2-0 lead going into the third. Jaffe chose neutral. This time, it was Landrum taking the shot, but Jaffe defended well and scored on the go-behind for a 4-0 final.
Jaffe was dominant on her side of the bracket. The top seed pinned her way to the finals without so much as seeing the second period. In the opening round, she made quick work of Susquehanna Township’s Zoey Lonon, getting the fall in 1:05. Then followed with a 1:02 decking of Riley Netter of Upper Dublin. Jaffe punched her ticket to finals with a pin over Manheim Township’s Isabella Baccio, getting the slap of the mat at the 1:24 mark.
Landrum had a somewhat more difficult road to the championship bout. Wrestling out of the sixth seed, Landrum opened with a 50-second fall over Alia Narvarez-Weiner of Delaware Valley. To reach the finals, Landrum had to post back-to-back wins over the No. 3 seed, Kiski Area’s Isabella DeVito, and second-seeded Trinity Robinson of North Penn.
DeVito gave Landrum a battle before the freshman escaped with a 5-3 victory to advance to the semifinals, where she earned her spot in the title bout with a third-period fall over Robinson. DeVito and Robinson rebounded to finish third and fourth respectively.
“As a freshman, this was the first time I was able to compete at the Girls High School States Tournament,” said Landrum. “But it was really nice to be in a venue with so many female wrestlers, so many high level girls and even so many girls new to wrestling. It is rewarding to be in such a large bracket, all of the brackets were pretty deep, especially in the weights around 124.  It really makes you feel like you earned something.”
For both girls, the focus now shifts to freestyle, the kind of wrestling featured for women in the Olympics and college, a goal for both competitors.
“I am very excited to start freestyle,” said Jaffe. “I like the style better.  It’s fun. And I have big goals for Texas (for Women’s Nationals and World Team Trials) and for Fargo (For the USA Wrestling cadet and junior Nationals).”
The sophmore got her first taste of life on the big stage last season, when she finished as the national champion in the U-15 group in Texas, earning her a spot on the USA Pam-Am team. Jaffe won gold at the U-15 Pan Am games in Mexico last fall.
For Landrum, in just her third year of wrestling, it will be her first trip to Texas.
“There is so much to look forward to this freestyle season,” said Landrum. “I had an injury right after folkstyle states last year that kept me out of the 2021 freestyle season, which was disappointing.  So I am extra eager to head to Texas and Fargo and see how I do at that level. This is where the real girls wrestling begins.”