On Sunday, Feb. 9, the Waynesburg University women’s wrestling team sent three of their six members to John Carroll University for their open that saw two of the said women notch placements for their last regular season competition this year.

Ja’Khia Matthews found herself in a round robin against three other wrestlers and although was bested by Hayeni Costa, who won the bracket, as well as regionally-ranked opponent MacKenzie Laforest, she did notch a pin against Emily Jirousek in a little over 30 seconds to take third for the 207 bracket. For Matthews however, this was not the performance that she takes the most pride in. 

“Honestly, I don’t think this was my best performance. I think my fifth-place finish at the Millersville tournament was my best. I worked much harder in that tournament. I really had to fight for that fifth-place spot, which involved six matches,” Matthews said. 

Matthews also elaborated on having to deal with multiple ailments and injuries that have lingered throughout the season, but is thank ful for her coaches who have been able to help her along the last five months of her college journey.

“I also really appreciate my teammates, coach Karli [Thomas] and coach Aaron [McKinney] for helping me throughout the season. I have seen a lot of progress in my team. Whether we are sick or injured, we continue to make progress every day and push through no matter what,” Matthews continued.

For Thomas, she is very aware of the wear and tare that a full length wrestling season will have on anybody, and spoke to simply trying to keep the attitude of the team in the right direction during this time.

“I just try to keep them positive and engaged. It gets hard at the end of the season because everyone is starting to feel the effects of the entire season,” Thomas said.

Although there is a lot to digest from the inaugural season for Thomas and her wrestlers, she has begun to analyze the strides that have been made and how she has translated that to them. 

“I do take time occasionally to talk with them about the progress they made individually and that alone should be wins in their book. I really give these ladies credit for stepping so far out of their comfort zone,” Thomas said. 

For the women, their season will likely be concluded at JCU, as there are regulations that permit teams to compete at the Regional tournament if they meet certain meet requirements by a specific number of individuals on the team, which due to multiple injuries, may have been a hinderance to meeting this requirement.