Moore to do at Newberry College

Apr. 2—NEWBERRY — Devan Moore, 149 lbs., became the 47th All American wrestler at Newberry College this year following his eighth-place finish at NCAA Division II Championships, in Cedar Rapids. The 22-year-old is proud of his recent accomplishment, but he is not done, as he still has his eyes set on winning a national title.

"I'm coming back next year to run it back one more time. I still want to be a national champ and I'll be going to grad school (at Newberry College)," Moore said.

This Baxley, Ga. native got his start in wrestling at the age of six, he said he was listening to the after-school announcements and heard them promote the wrestling team on the intercom and he has been on the mat ever since. He went on to wrestle at Appling County High School where he said he had three coaches in four years.

"When I first started wrestling, I had a really good coach my freshman and sophomore year, then he left, and I had three different high school coaches in four years. It was difficult to get matches and a good training partner," Moore said. "I was fortunate to have DaMarko Dixon, he graduated a few years before I did, he took me under his wing and, along with his brother, we use to practice every day, just working on our craft."

Moore got to Newberry College after being recruited by Cy Wainwright, former wrestling head coach at Newberry College.

"They recruited a lot of Georgia guys, I know Will Evans was recruited here before I was, Isiah Royal too, then Coach Cy contacted me," he said.

In coming to Newberry College, Moore said his collegiate wrestling career started off rocky. He said he went from being successful in high school to getting beaten every day. However, he also said that a lot of the upperclassman on the team helped make the process easier.

"Isiah kind of took me under his wing, Austin Palmer, Keenan Graham, they all made the transition a smooth one," he said.

Moore, a sports management major, came into Newberry College in 2019, this means like most students his age he had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, and shutdowns, as a student athlete.

"The COVID-19 (2020-21) year was great, we went undefeated, and I won a lot of matches. I give all the credit to Coach Cy, he made the transition really easy, we were getting tested every day after practice to try and stay healthy and on the mat," Moore said. "I remember a few times during the year we shut down the room so everyone could stay safe and healthy. We had to cancel a few duals, but in the end, I think it all worked out."

During the COVID-19 years, Moore said that it hindered his development in wrestling, a little bit. He said they could only wrestle at conference matches and after the pandemic they were able to go to the other tournaments. However, he also said it allowed their team to become closer.

"Everyone on my team, we were together all the time, getting tested together, eating in the cafeteria, just hanging out. We knew we were safe, and we didn't want to jeopardize the season by going and hanging out with a group that wasn't vaccinated or not getting tested," Moore said.

Last year, the Newberry College wrestling team got a new coach in Deral Brown. Moore said the transition was kind of rocky at first because they didn't have a coach during preseason and were only on the mat a few times. However, he said they hit the ground running when Brown arrived.

This led him tobeing the only All-American wrestler from Newberry College, this year.

"Coming in, I wanted to win a national title. That is still the goal to this day, but every single day is about winning the day. What can I control today, doing sprints, I'm going to win these sprints; we are doing hard drills, I'm going to win these hard drills," Moore said. "Last year, Coach Deral gave us a red book, I still use it to this day, every night before I go to bed, I write down my goals, just visualizing myself on top of the podium."

As a wrestler, Moore said he prefers to compete on his feet, he said, "I'm an explosive guy and get to use all my athleticism."

Despite this being his preferred method, Brown said it wasn't wrestling on his feet that got Moore on the podium this year.

"Honestly, what got him on the podium this year was his top wrestling. He listened to Coach Blanton and me, we told him he cannot live or die by wrestling on your feet; and he went out and beats a three time All-American to get on the podium," Brown said.

Even though he has more to come at Newberry College, Moore said the biggest lesson he has taken away from wrestling his sacrifice.

"You have to sacrifice so much to be good at this sport, otherwise you'll get exposed. In the real world, if I may have to sacrifice not spending this much money this month, maybe it will be sacrificing sleep to get to work early one day," Moore said.

When it comes to coaching Moore, Brown said he has been a model student athlete. He said Moore has the ability to translate what he does in the wrestling room into his life off the mat.

"Everything from his internship, being promoted with the Columbia Fireflies, that is just a testament to the work he puts in, the sacrifice he talked about, how focused he is on the process," Brown said. "He is taking that mindset to graduate school and he's going to leave Newberry College with two degrees. It has been a pleasure to coach Devan."

Something else Moore said about wrestling was that anyone can beat anyone in wrestling, "everyone puts their singlet on the same." This can be shown between Brown and Moore, when Moore jokingly said during the interview, "I broke the tech fall record, so I'm better than Deral."

Reach Andrew Wigger @ 803-768-3122 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.