West Lafayette wrestler Rose Kaplan placed second at U.S. Junior Nationals in Fargo

LAFAYETTE — West Lafayette graduate Rose Kaplan has found a way to progress as one of the nation's top 126-pound female wrestlers.

Kaplan took her skills to the U.S. Junior Women's National Freestyle Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.

The 2-time Indiana state champion Kaplan took second overall on Sunday in a bracket of 128 and a tournament that featured wrestlers from 32 different states.

Indiana finished fourth overall at the tournament and scored 82 points behind Pennsylvania (100 points), Missouri (104 points) and California (176 points).

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"The biggest factor I noticed was my mental state during the tournament," Kaplan said. "It is by far the most confident I have ever felt while competing and I think it really showed."

Kaplan won her first six matches including wins against Alejandra Valdiviezo of Ramona, California via 9-2 pinfall in 4:12 during the semifinals and pinned Sierra Chiesa 4-3 of Albion, Pennsylvania in 3:55 during the quarterfinals.

The Indiana Tech-bound Kaplan explained how limiting distractions helped her perform at a higher level after placing fourth in last year's tournament.

"During the tournament I actually turned off my phone and had my coaches tell me what my bout numbers were so I couldn’t worry about any match in the bracket except the one I was going to wrestle in," Kaplan said.

Kaplan's run came to an end in the championship when she lost to Karlee Brooks of Phoenix via technical fall 10-0.

Brooks is signed to Iowa and placed fourth at the U/20 Women's National Championship in April.

"Obviously it’s is not the result I was hoping for but she is a great wrestler and that match definitely taught me a lot and showed me what I need to work on in order to close that gap," Kaplan said.

Junior Isabel Kaplan of West Lafayette finished fifth overall in the 16/U National Tournament on Sunday with her older sibling.

Both Kaplan sisters were named All-Americans for their performances.

Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@gannett.com , on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson .

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette wrestler Rose Kaplan placed second at U.S. Junior Nationals in Fargo