Brewton-Parker Hits Reset With New Coach

Brewton-Parker coach Devane Dodgens celebrates with some of his team. Photo courtesy of Brewton-Parker Women’s Wrestling program.

Gabriela Galvez works for the takedown. Photo courtesy of Brewton-Parker Women’s Wrestling program.

by Derek Levendusky, AWW staff writer

MOUNT VERNON, GA - It takes time to build a program. Heading into its fourth season, the Brewton-Parker College Women’s wrestling program has had three different coaches in four years. Head coach Devane Dodgens is ready to take it to the next level. “We basically had to redo the whole program as we have no returners from previous years,” said the 2x All-American for Life University. “A lot of our recruiting classes, while lacking experience, are hungry to get better, on and off the mat.”

Devane took the post in late March, during the heart of the first wave of the 2020 pandemic, having previously served as an assistant coach at both Life University and Reinhardt University. The young coach moved to Mount Vernon, Georgia, to serve as the women’s head coach and men’s assistant coach.

The program’s young history has had limited success, with 4 previous NAIA National Qualifiers, including 2019 WCWA and Mid-South Conference champion All-American Abnelis Yambo who is no longer with the program. Coach Dodgens comes in with big vision, embracing the reset and setting his sights high on program goals. “My hope is to get our team nationally-ranked,” says the leader. “We are receiving votes and we had one of our ladies—Breanna Jennings at 170—pin the number 10th ranked 191-pounder in the nation. I think with our lower weight group we are right there to making huge jumps forward. I am really looking forward to our conference season which starts in January.”

Jennings, a red shirt sophomore from Texas, is a transfer from Wayland Baptist, where she went 4-2 at the WCWA Nationals in 2019. She’s currently ranked #13 in the country in the AWW/FloWrestling Women’s College Multi-Division Rankings and #11 in the NAIA rankings. Junior Andrena Carter, a transfer from Texas Wesleyan, is ranked #19 in the NAIA poll.

Sophomore transfer Alex Martinez, who wrestled 101 pounds for Limestone last year, brings strength to the room. “Martinez brings a ton of leadership and experience to the team,” notes the coach, who is also excited about his 155, India Page, who is ranked #19 in the NAIA rankings. “Page is someone I am looking to really make a name for herself.”

This year’s roster only has 13 women, but Coach Dodgens is expecting to turn some heads. “We have some sneaky girls down low and through the middle that with experience are going to be tough.”

The recruiting class, though small, was solid, as every wrestler coming in placed or qualified for their high school state tournament. The list includes Paige Kalish, Savannah Lackey, and Gabriela Galvez, who were all staples in their state rankings. “We are expecting them to make some noise,” says the expectant coach. He’s also got some other ammo in the lineup. “Sierra Hartfelder and Hanna Costa continually get better every day,” he points out, “and Geneva Winston is very dangerous for us through the middle.”

The Baron women’s program focuses on fundamentals, academics, and relationships. “We are working hard to develop these ladies with proper practices and structure,” explains the coach. “We go over a lot of basics and then start tailoring our girls off to things they are good and comfortable at. From there we just work to teach them the proper transitions from folkstyle to freestyle. We try to keep the room intense but also laid back with some games and light practices throughout the week. We give all our ladies a chance to compete at the next level and earn an education. We want the ladies to realize you’re not [just] a number here and you will get every opportunity to compete and grow. This is not only as a wrestler, but an individual as well.”

Brewton-Parker will start their conference season against first-year program Lourdes and the University of the Cumberlands on Saturday, January 9th.

Savannah Lackey looking for the fall. Photo courtesy of Brewton-Parker Women’s Wrestling program.