Dual of the Week: NAIA #1 Life vs. #2 Campbellsville

Photo by Derek Levendusky for AWW. Taken at 2022 National Duals.

by Derek Levendusky
Twitter: @AWWderek

WILLIAMSBURG, KENTUCKY - It was a rematch of NAIA titans #1 Life vs. #2 Campbellsville. Only a month ago, these two programs met in the finals of the NWCA National Duals in the NAIA division, and Life University had the most dramatic moment in their program history when 191 Gabby Hamilton came back to score a fall, securing Life’s first-ever national title. It was more of the same this time, as it came down to the last match and Hamilton heroics again, and she came through again, securing a fall in the final match and putting her team ahead for the 24-23 win.

“While very close duals with rivals is stressful for a coach and the team,” said Life head coach Ashley Flavin (Sword), “it is amazing for the fans of women’s wrestling. Winning the regular season Mid-South Conference is a testament to the strength of the team overall and the power in the strength of fighting for something greater than yourself.”

Nine of the ten matches were finished by early termination. The only one that wasn’t was a battle of top talent at 155 between Campbellsville’s Kenya Sloan and Life’s Destinee Rivera. Sloan, in only her second match back after returning from a multi-year layoff due to injury, won it 6-4. Even so, those points Rivera scored loomed large, as freestyle team scoring awards a team point if the loser scores any points and if the match doesn’t end in a fall. That one point was the difference. After that match, NWCA heroes Jordan Nelson and Gabby Hamilton secured falls to put Life over the top of Campbellsville…again.

The dual began with tech falls by Life’s Katalina Bartelt at 101 and Kory Phillips, followed by a fall by Life’s 116 Brianna Funakoshi. That made it 13-0. But then it was Campbellsville’s turn as they scored four straight falls from 123-143 for an 11-0 lead. The 130-pound match featured a high stakes bout between Campbellsville’s #5 ranked Angela Vitiritti and Life’s #4 ranked Julia Vidallon, the 2020 WCWA national champion. The score was tied 6-6 when Vitiritti scored the fall for the dramatic win.

“We are thankful to be a part of the toughest conference in women’s wrestling,” Flavin continued, “and to have these high level match ups week in and week out.”

Life finished their season undefeated in duals with a record of 11-0 and now move on to the postseason with the Mid-South Conference Championships coming up on February 20th.

Box score
101: Katalina Bartelt (Life) over Mia Diaz (Campbellsville), 10-0, 4:43
109: Kory Phillips (Life) over Gabrielle Medeiros (Campbellsville), 11-0, 3:30
116: Brianna Funakoshi (Life) over Anna Rush (Campbellsville), Fall 5:07
123: Leilah Castro (Campbellsville) over Laila Sa (Life), Fall 0:50
130: Angela Vitiritti (Campbellsville) over Julia Vidallon (Life), Fall 4:58
136: Randi Robison (Campbellsville) over Olivia Motley (Life), Fall 2:06
143: Emma Walker (Campbellsville) over Angie Prado (Life), Fall 1:41
155: Kenya Sloan (Campbellsville) over Destinee Rivera (Life), 6-4
170: Jordan Nelson (Life) over Leilani Martinez (Campbellsville), Fall 4:58
191: Gabrielle Hamilton (Life) over Brianna Staebler (Campbellsville), Fall 2:04