It came down to the wire. And Life prevailed. 

#1 Life University faced #2 Campbellsville University in a rematch of the 2022 NAIA Women's National Duals final held on January 7 in Louisville where the Running Eagles won, 25-19. The win made Ashley Sword the first woman to coach a National Duals championship.

The most recent showdown took place during a triangular hosted by the University of the Cumberlands. The teams faced off during the first match of the afternoon — and it didn't disappoint. Missing from the line-up were returning national champions Peyton Prussin (Life) and McKayla Campbell (Campbellsville) who were in a 19-14 shootout at the National Duals that was won by Prussin. 

The Running Eagles came out on fire, picking up technical superiorities by Katalina Bartelt (101) and Kory Phillips (109) and a fall by Brianna Funakoshi (116) for an 11-0 lead.

The Tigers fired back with four straight falls and a decision at 155 pounds to take a 23-14 lead with two matches remaining. A crucial match for Campbellsville came at 130 pounds when #5 Angela Vitiritti pinned returning national champion and #4 Julia Vidallon when the score was knotted 6-6. 

Life would need falls in the final two weights to secure the win. Jordan Nelson won by fall at 170 pounds and — just like at the National Duals — Gabrielle Hamilton came up clutch for her team by securing a first-period fall. 

Nine of 10 matches ended by technical superiority or by fall. Despite losing 6-4, Destinee Rivera scored one team point since she scored technical points during her match against Kenya Sloan at 155 pounds. The final score was 24-23. 

Life and Campbellsville will meet at Mid-South Conference Championships on February 20 and at the NAIA National Women's Invitational on March 11-12 in Jamestown, North Dakota.

Match-by-match results

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

Final score: LIfe 24, Campbellsville 23