Apr 4, 2024 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

Growing up in Fayette County where she was a member of the junior high wrestling team, Karli Thomas never imagined she would be leading a women’s wrestling program at the collegiate level.

Thomas, who graduated from Albert Gallatin in 2017, was recently named the head coach of the women’s wrestling team at Waynesburg University, which will begin competition later this year in its inaugural season.

“When I was in school, I never thought girls would get their own spot to compete,” Thomas said. “To see how fast it has grown is amazing, and I am looking forward to getting started. It is probably not something I thought I would be doing at this point in my life, but you have to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.”

Waynesburg athletic director Tim Fusina wanted to see the university get ahead of the other institutions in the area as women’s wrestling has emerged in a short period of time from hardly having any competitors take the mat to fielding full teams, and he believes Thomas is more than capable to handle the job as head coach.

“Karli was an outstanding candidate, and her background, coaching ability and influence on young ladies’ lives showed up in her interview,” Fusina said. “We are thrilled and lucky to have someone like her running our women’s program.”

The schedule for the Yellow Jackets has not been released, but teams across the country have competed for individual and team national championships at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships. The tournament is for colleges that field teams regardless of division.

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics voted on Feb. 7 to recommend Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add a national collegiate women’s wrestling championship.

The projected year for the first NCAA Championships is 2026.

Waynesburg will be the first college in Southwestern Pennsylvania to field a women’s wrestling team. Hiram in Ohio and Gannon have women’s wrestling teams.

Mount Union, Penn State Altoona and West Liberty will join the Yellow Jackets for their inaugural campaigns for the 2024-25 season.

Thomas was recommended for the Waynesburg position by Josh Fowler, who is the founder and owner of Black Cat Mixed Martial Arts and Self Defense in Morgantown, W.Va.

“Josh recommended me to Adam Jack (Waynesburg’s vice president for enrollment management, athletics, facilities and strategic initiatives) and I can’t thank him enough for doing that for me,” Thomas said.

Women’s college wrestling differs from the men at the collegiate level because the women wrestle freestyle while the men wrestle folkstyle.

“It will be a change going from folkstyle to freestyle, but my coach at The Mat Factory, Isaac Greeley, has helped me, and a lot of people have offered to help out,” Thomas said. “Chris Dempsey, who also trains and helps coach at The Mat Factory, has offered to help with training. I am grateful to have those guys in my corner.”

Thomas didn’t compete in wrestling at the high-school level, but she has honed her skills at The Mat Factory, which is located in Lower Burrell.

Thomas coached the Kiski girls team this past high school season, which was the first year the PIAA sanctioned girls wrestling. Thomas guided the Cavaliers’ Ava Golding to win a WPIAL and regional championship at 136 pounds. The sophomore placed third in the state tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey.

“It gave me confidence to be able to coach the Kiski girls team this year,” Thomas said. “I am pretty close in age to the wrestlers, so it can sometimes feel like a friendship, but you need to establish that I am the coach and they need to listen to me. I think I have done a good job with that.”