Two Time Georgia State Champ Dashawn Farber Loving Life in Pennsylvania
HERSHEY, PA – Dashawn Farber doesn’t have Georgia on his mind any longer.
The Nazareth junior, who was a two-time state champion in the Peach State before returning to his Lehigh Valley roots, advanced to the 3A State Semifinals with a 12-4 victory over Kibwe McNair of Methacton.
“It feels great,” said Farber, who is 37-7 and ranked fifth at 138 pounds. “Loving being back in Pa. Great culture around here, great wrestling. I love it.”
‘… it’s not Pennsylvania’
Farber said there are some definite differences between wrestling in Georgia and in Pennsylvania.
“It was still wrestling,” he said. “Still great, but the fans, there weren’t that many and the competition wasn’t that deep. There were still good kids, but I like that every match here at states is hard.”
He was enjoying the experience of wrestling in the Giant Center in front of thousands of fans.
“The atmosphere there is still good,” he said of Georgia, “but it’s not Pennsylvania.”
Farber has outscored his opponents 21-7 in two matches this week, but things will get more difficult on Saturday morning, when he faces No. 4 Tyler Williams of Souderton.
“I wrestled him years back,” Farber recalled. “I know he’s good on top. I’m pretty good on bottom. I tend to get out pretty quickly, so I don’t think that should be a problem.”
Farber is confident heading into the semifinals, but not cocky.
“I’m wrestling great – as hard as I can for the entire six minutes,” he said. “I’m feeling good for tomorrow, for the rest of the tournament.”
Making ‘Great Leaps’
Wrestling for coach Dave Crowell and being in the Nazareth room has made a difference for Farber.
“I’ve made great leaps this year,” he said. “All of the coaches have helped. Coach Crowell, he really shaped my mindset into being a wrestler a lot more. Some of the things he says, when you go out there and compete, it helps you so much. My strength has improved, my technique has improved. I’m a better wrestler being at Nazareth.”