Area Native Gabi Wayne Recaps a Two-Sport Career at Clarion University; Beginning Teaching and Coaching Career

DUBOIS, Pa. (EYT/D9) – Seeing all that someone worked for since they were five years old come full circle is quite extraordinary. For those in the Clarion and DuBois communities who know Gabi Wayne, they know exactly what is being referred to.

(Photos courtesy of Clarion University Athletics.)

As just a young girl in elementary school, Wayne got her first taste of athletic competition by joining the DuBois Area YMCA youth swimming opportunities. From the start, it was something she could see herself ever departing from. Though, for a time, she was unsure what would happen past her days as a state-qualifying swimmer for the Lady Beavers.

“I was a junior when I started my recruiting process,” Wayne explained. “I took a visit to Kenyon College, a Division III program in Ohio, but it was not the right fit for me. I had some other offers come along like Eastern Michigan and St. Bonaventure, and I even committed to St. Bonaventure for a time to continue swimming. 

“During the recruiting process, I fell out of love with swimming. Eventually, I went to Clarion because of their education programs and actually decided to throw after being convinced by Ashley (McCluskey) to do so. It was then fate as on move-in day, I was encouraged to try out for the swimming team, and I eventually made it. The rest was history.”

The rest was truly history as Wayne, one of the top swimmers and javelin throwers in District 9 in the high school class of 2017, took her talents to nearby Clarion University. Better yet, she was able to study for a degree she was passionate about and is now using today as a long-term substitute teacher for the rest of the 2021-22 school year in the DuBois Area and Brockway Area School Districts.

Her four years of competition at Clarion featured some amazing moments, including capping off with an All-PSAC selection for finishing third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference at the conference meet in the 200 freestyle. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was forced to pick just one sport in her senior year because swimming in the PSAC was moved from a winter sport to a partial winter and partial spring sport. This after her junior year of track and field was canceled because the pandemic had just started at that point.

“When I found out the entire university was going to be shut down, I thought we would be back soon. A few days later, we got an email saying we would not be returning for that school year. Nobody then had any idea what was going to happen next.”

“My senior year, I picked swimming as my primary sport because I was getting some scholarship money, but it turned out to be such a long season. It ended up being from September till April because of the changes. It was a brutal time, but I ended on a high note and am thankful that I ended that way.”

Gabi Wayne 1

Her final year of schooling was spent taking virtual classes while also figuring out how to advance her career as a student teacher amid never seen times for those working in education. Despite these challenges, she made it as a December 2021 Clarion University graduate, while being on the verge of completing her three certifications in order to become certified in Elementary Education. Until final confirmation of that, she’s continuing to work as a substitute teacher while also continuing a coaching career she started late in her high school career.

During the summer of college, she continued to assist the DuBois YMCA youth swimming programs, with her now coaching kids as young as elementary school and as old as high school. She also serves as a volunteer coach for the DuBois Area High School swimming program and recently was named the throwing coach for the DuBois Area Middle School track and field teams.

“Watching these kids change and improve over the last few months has been amazing,” said Wayne about coaching swimming this school year. “That is my number one goal as a coach, especially for someone focusing on coaching mostly elementary and middle school-aged athletes. Seeing them grow has been so rewarding, and it is an amazing feeling to know I am now that role model and adult figure they look up to.”

Life changes fast, as a little under a year ago, she was taking instruction from Clarion University Head Swimming and Diving Coach, Brehan Kelley, one of the bigger influences in her life in athletics.

“She encouraged me so much to continue the love and passion I have for swimming,” said Wayne regarding her head swimming coach during her college years. “She has done an amazing job and even has athletes on the team this year who want to one day race in the Olympic Trials. It’s exciting that swimmers of that caliber are choosing to come to Clarion.”

One member of the current Golden Eagles swimming program is Wayne’s younger brother, Isaac, a swimmer who focuses on the sprinting events just like his older sister once did as a competitor.

Others who have positively affected her life in swimming include DuBois Area High School swimming coaches Mike Gressler and Leanne Fuller, two coaches who helped her to improve her technique as a swimmer and have helped to send a great collection of athletes to the college level over the years.

Gressler and Fuller also allowed for her to have the opportunity to compete at meets for USA Swimming. While it was unattached due to Wayne not belonging to a club team, it was experience that would help her to improve and gain extra exposure through swimming.

Taking it back even further, Barb Brinkley, her coach all the way back in elementary school, helped her to fall in love with swimming as a young girl.

“She had a personality that would light up the room and would brighten everyone’s mood,” said Wayne about her former coach.

In her time as a thrower at Clarion, she also considers herself fortunate to have been coached by Ben Bevevino, someone who specializes in coaching sprinters and jumpers but made time to instruct her on how to become a better thrower overall, specifically in javelin.

Gabi Wayne Track

In pursuing education, she has been influenced by her parents Melissa and John most. Her father is a long-time math educator in the DuBois Area School District, while her mother is a daycare owner and helped her daughter to find her passion for wanting to work with early education aged children.

Many people have helped Gabi Wayne earn the opportunity to become a college athlete, but now, this current chapter is about her returning the favor and helping to prepare the next generation of now just college athletes, but the future of our communities, something that cannot be understated.


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