Regardless of what else she accomplishes as a college wrestler, Faryn Dewitt already has her name etched in Waynesburg history.

On Nov. 3 against Cedar Crest’s Leilani Martinez at the East Stroudsburg Women’s Open, the Southmoreland grad registered the first victory in program history. Dewitt earned a 9-6 decision in the match, ensuring her name will be linked with the first-year program — and in university athletic lore — forever.

The victory was a bit unlikely for Dewitt, who wrestles at 110 pounds. Not because she is relatively inexperienced in the sport or because of how new the Waynesburg program is but because she had been sick for two weeks leading up to the match.

“That was super cool to see happen,” said coach Karli Thomas, a Plum resident who has been tasked with getting the Yellowjackets off the ground. “I feel like that first win is always special. … Just knowing how she was feeling going into it and still being kind of new to wrestling, very satisfying feeling as a coach.”

Said Dewitt: “I was trying to go into it with more of a positive mindset to do it to the best of my ability because I have only been wrestling for about two years. It was a hard match for me, honestly, because I was sick and had to push through the stamina a lot.

“But getting the win was a confidence booster that I had the ability to win.”

More wins have followed for Dewitt. At the Millersville Women’s Collegiate Open on Nov. 17, she recorded two victories to place fifth in the 110-pound class. One of the two wins was her first collegiate pin at 3 minutes, 53 seconds of the fifth-place match.

On Nov. 24 at the John Carroll Duals, Dewitt earned two more victories, including another fall.

Dewitt and the Yellowjackets will return to action Dec. 14 at the Kalahari Duals, hosted in Sandusky, Ohio, by Heidelberg University.

Dewitt was a late arrival to wrestling. Throughout most of her junior high and high school days, she was involved in tennis, track and field and cheerleading. She also had been a competitive dancer since her childhood.

She caught the wrestling bug while watching her best friend’s older brother, Tristan Ice, now on the wrestling roster at Fairmont State. Dewitt sometimes would help out at boys tournaments, so she finally decided to give wrestling a try for herself.

“I didn’t have time with all the other stuff I did,” she said. “My junior year, I actually quit competitive dance — after doing it my whole life — to do wrestling. I loved it after the first practice.”

Though she was a neophyte when it came to wrestling, Dewitt had no shortage of athletic experience. She also had the flexibility from her years of dance training, which, she said, also built her leg strength.

It has been up to Thomas to hone Dewitt’s wrestling skills. She also had to get Dewitt accustomed to freestyle tactics after she wrestled mostly folkstyle in high school.

“Faryn, I think, is very technically sound,” Thomas said. “When she is confident in herself, she performs very well. She has great technique. I think just continuing to build off what base she has is the key for her right now.

“Really across the board with all of the girls, but with Faryn more specifically, just the hand-fighting in the neutral position, getting the opponent to open up, working to get inside position.”

Thomas also has encouraged Dewitt and all her wrestlers — there are seven on the Yellowjackets roster — to take risks. At this point, Thomas said, victories aren’t as important as learning. So she gives the ladies leeway to try new things on the mat, see what works and what doesn’t.

Dewitt has been trying to perfect her offense, namely taking more shots. Defensively, she is learning how to fend off attacks on the bottom, which, she said, remains a work in progress.

Meanwhile, Dewitt said her state of mind has been as important as her skills. She has tried to buy into Thomas’ go-for-it mentality.

“In high school, I really overthought everything before every match,” she said, “and I’m trying not to do that as much.”

Said Thomas: “I feel like the best way you learn is when you fail, so it’s totally fine to go into a match and just try stuff. And if it works, great. If not, let’s see what went wrong and how can we get better to make whatever move it was effective.”

With the program being in its first year and most of the wrestlers having only a couple of years of experience, Thomas isn’t expecting miracles. Success won’t be measured in wins and losses, only by how much each wrestler improves to set up the Yellowjackets for the future.

There have been other promising moments. Freshman Ja’Khia Matthews won three matches, including a pair by fall, at Millersville to place fifth in her weight class.

“Everything is going pretty good,” Thomas said. “I feel like we have a good base right now.”

As for Dewitt, she is eager to continue the learning process and build herself into a more complete wrestler over the next three-plus years.

“I think I’m very good at listening to my coach. I ask a lot of questions,” she said. “I am willing to put in the little technical things to work toward bigger goals.

“The only goal I really set for myself this season was I wanted to win a couple of matches.”

Mission accomplished.

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