Williamsburg, KY – University of the Cumberlands Head Women's Wrestling Coach Sarah Allen has announced the additions of DeVaughn Sapien and Sierra Mefford to the Patriots coaching staff. Sapien joins the program as an assistant coach, while Mefford will serve as a graduate assistant. 

"What really stood out about DeVaughn was the combination of experience, technical knowledge, and familiarity already there with our program," said Allen. "DeVaughn has coached some of our athletes previously at Indian Hills, so there are already relationships and a level of trust established with some of the women in our room. The strong Greco background is also going to bring another dimension to our training and give our athletes another perspective technically. Being a UC graduate is important, too. DeVaughn already understands what it means to have Patriot Pride and has a connection to this university. I think all of those things make DeVaughn a great addition to our staff." 

Sapien comes to Cumberlands after serving as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Sacred Heart University during the 2025-26 season. He helped guide Sacred Heart to the 2026 NCAA Region 1 Championship while coaching three regional champions and two NCAA National placers. Sapien also helped 12 wrestlers earn NCAA Women's Scholar All-American honors. 

Prior to Sacred Heart, Sapien spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Indian Hills Community College. During his tenure, the Warriors captured back-to-back NJCAA National Championships in 2024 and 2025. Sapien coached 16 NJCAA National placers in both seasons, including seven national finalists in 2025. He also helped coach 14 NWCA Scholar All-Americans in 2024 as Indian Hills placed third in the NWCA Scholar Team standings. 

Sapien began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Minot State during the 2022-23 season, where he helped coach three NWWCC National Qualifiers. 

"What attracted me to the opportunity to join the Cumberlands women's wrestling program was the chance to help push a program that has already shown it can compete with some of the top schools in the country," said Sapien. "I was also drawn to the opportunity to be part of a great coaching staff and a university that genuinely prioritizes and supports its student-athletes." 

Sapien returns to Williamsburg after competing for the Patriots during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. As a senior in 2022, Sapien qualified for the NAIA National Championship after posting a 21-10 record. He was one of six Patriots to record at least 20 wins that season and reached as high as 16th in the national rankings. 

Prior to Cumberlands, Sapien competed at Life University and Clackamas Community College. He was a four-time national qualifier throughout his collegiate career and earned Mid-South Conference Academic All-Conference honors twice. 

"I'm excited to be back in a place that is familiar to me, as I had the opportunity to compete for Cumberlands myself," said Sapien. "Being able to return to a university that played an important part in my own journey and now help the next generation of student-athletes makes this opportunity especially meaningful to me." 

Mefford transitions into the graduate assistant role after spending the previous two seasons competing for the Patriots. 

"Sierra is really special to me because I had the opportunity to coach her as an athlete, and now I get to watch her take that next step into coaching," said Allen. "She has fantastic technique and a great understanding of the sport, and I think she is going to be especially valuable in helping develop our middle weights. But what excites me just as much is what she brings from a leadership standpoint. Sierra was already a leader within our program as an athlete. She knows our expectations, understands our culture, and has a tremendous amount of Patriot Pride. Now she gets the opportunity to impact the next group of women who come through our program, and I'm really excited to see her grow into that role." 

Mefford began her collegiate career at Palomar College, where she wrestled for two seasons and became a two-time CCCAA State Champion. She then transferred to Cumberlands, where she competed for the Patriots during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. 

During her first season at UC, Mefford remained ranked inside the top ten of the NAIA rankings in her weight class before suffering a season-ending knee injury. She returned from surgery the following season and qualified for the 2026 NAIA National Championship, finishing one win shy of earning All-American honors. 

"I wrestled here for two years and loved it. Our team is so bonded, and we support each other like no other team I've seen before," said Mefford. "We have high-quality wrestlers who love to work hard. I was ecstatic when Coach Allen offered me the graduate assistant position, and I couldn't say no." 

Prior to her collegiate career, Mefford was a four-time state qualifier and two-time state placer. She also gained coaching experience while competing at Palomar, assisting with her former high school wrestling program. 

As a graduate assistant, Mefford will assist the Patriots both on and off the mat while continuing to develop as a coach. 

"I hope to learn as much from the program as I plan on giving," said Mefford. "I hope to share as much of my wrestling knowledge as I can with them, and I'm sure I'll get to learn just as much from them. There's always more to learn." 

Allen noted that both Sapien and Mefford will be involved in all aspects of the program, including strength and conditioning, practice planning, recruiting, team management, and athlete development. 

"What I really like is that they bring different experiences to our staff," said Allen. "DeVaughn brings collegiate coaching experience, established relationships with some of our athletes, and a strong Greco background. Sierra brings great technical knowledge along with the unique perspective of having competed in this program and been a leader in our room. They both understand what we're building here, they both have Patriot Pride, and I think they are going to be great resources for our athletes." 

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