William Byrd senior Darin Witcher flipped over the sport of wrestling at a young
age. So, it was fitting his last act on a high school mat was to do a 360 degree back flip
after winning his third straight state championship.
Witcher won the 132 pound state championship at the Salem Civic Center last
Saturday when he defeated Jackson Faulk of Kettle Run in the final, 9-3. To that point
Darin had pinned his way through his bracket, opening with a 35 second pin over Connor
Robinson New Kent. He pinned Cullyer Roadcap of East Rockingham in the quarterfinal
in 1:33 then needed just 54 seconds to put Dillenger Collins of Christiansburg away in
Saturday morning’s semifinals.
On Saturday evening, before a packed house at the Civic Center, Witcher took
control early and nearly shut out Faulk. The match was never in doubt.
“After the first takedown, I felt pretty confident in myself,” said Witcher. “Coach
(Otis) Doughty told me to ‘let it fly’ and a teammate (Evan Tabor) told me not to do
anything stupid, so I implemented a little bit of both of these ideas into my strategy.”
The championship was the third in as many years for Witcher, the first William
Byrd wrestler to win three state championships and the first to reach the finals four times.
Darin lost in the state 106 pound final his freshman year, only to come back and win the
106 pound title as a sophomore. Last year he won the state crown at 120 and this year he
wrestled at 132 and won again.
“Coach (Byrd’s Thomas) Kessler knows I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so it was
very important for me to go up,” said Witcher.
With the win Witcher ends his high school career with a record of 128-17, and his
overall career record at the state tournament is 15-1 with 13 pins. The 128 career wins are
third all-time for the Big Orange, trailing only Brian Wood and Ronnie Long in the
storied Byrd program. It’s something Darin can be proud of for the rest of his life.
“It’s very exciting,” said Witcher. “This is so far the biggest accomplishment of
my life, but I’m more excited to see where Kessler takes the Byrd program in the future.
We have some great young talent coming up that will be exciting to watch.”
Thomas has been blessed to have Darin on the team for the past four years. He’s
not only a good wrestler, but also a good person who has been a terrific role model for
the other wrestlers.
“His on mat excellence matches his off mat excellence as well,” said Kessler. “Throughout the whole season Darin devoted his personal time to our youth program as well, showing up to practices four hours a week. His impact was felt through the high school, middle school, elementary and pre-k wrestlers during his time. He leaves this
program a way better place than it was when he arrived.”
Darin has yet to decide where he will go to college, and if he’ll continue his
wrestling career. However, for now he can look back on his accomplishments with pride
and not worry about that sweet tooth when he gets on the scale.
“I’d like to say a special thank you to all of my coaches, teammates, practice
partners, family, and friends,” he said. “I’ve received a massive amount of support since
the beginning of my career that has never tapered off.”
