ST. LOUIS – Ever since the first regular season rankings came out in November, it was the team captains, Kayla Miracle and Tiaira Scott, sitting atop their respective weight class. That's exactly how the season played out on Valentine's Day at the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) National Championships as Miracle and Scott claimed the first national titles in Campbellsville University women's wrestling program history.

The two titles also gave CU second-place in its second season – a mark no WCWA program has ever done.

Campbellsville battled four-time national champion Oklahoma City back-and-forth all day Saturday for second place. Midway through the finals, CU trailed by seven points and needed at least two wins to overtake the Stars. Miracle and Scott provided to edge OCU 196-195 in the team standings. King University repeated the team national title with more than 260 points.

"If you're going to be in that place, needing two wins, you want your captains going out and getting them for you. Both battled all the way," CU head coach Lee Miracle said.

"I'd like to thank the university for all of the support. We're looking forward to the new facility next year. It's helping us with recruiting, and this finish helps even more. Everyone knows we're doing something right. As a second-year program to take second in the country is unprecedented. These girls fought together as a family. It was really special. Remember, this team is just freshmen and sophomores. I can't wait until I have a team of juniors and seniors."

Kayla Miracle, who is ranked No. 1 at 130 pounds, bumped up to 136 pounds this weekend to run the table and win CU's first women's wrestling title. The freshman out of Culver Academy (Ind.) dominated her competition through the tournament with a pin and two tech falls Friday and then an 8-2 win over King's Forrest Molinari to reach Saturday night's final. However, in the final, she ran into a lanky Shai Mason of Jamestown, who was able to hold off Miracle's shots. The freshman was able to score two takedowns for the championship win.

"I've been wrestling up pretty much all year for duals, so I was used to the heavier competition … (Mason) was heavy the entire time, and I couldn't finish, but then the last go was just a scramble, and I like to scramble," Kayla Miracle said. "We've had a lot of adversity this year as a team, and no one would have ever thought a second place finish were possible, but we're really stepping up as a team."

The win pulled CU within three points of Oklahoma City and was followed by a pin by 143-pound champ Amanda Hendey (King) over an OCU grappler to aid the Lady Tigers.

The night was capped with an exciting finish at 191 pounds. Scott took a 7-0 lead with two quick takedowns and a push out, but she allowed Brandy Lowe (Ottawa) to hang around and scrap her way to an 8-8 tie. With the crowd chanting her name, Scott scored a takedown just before time expired for an 11-8 championship win.

"Coach told me before the match what was on the line as far as team score was concerned, but I was trying not to make too much of it. But at the end, I was pretty emotional because the team wanted it so bad and I really wanted a national championship," Scott said.

In addition to the two national champions, CU had six others place Top 8 as All-Americans.

Hanna Hall was the first to have a chance to lock up the second-place team finish, wrestling in the 155-pound finals. Hall, a fourth-place finisher at 143 pounds last year, was tech'd by top-ranked Julia Salata (King) to finish as a national runner-up.

"I knew to win it would be really tough, but she wrestled really well and she listens. She's getting better and better every match," Lee Miracle said of Hall. "She went out against Alexis Porter and got it done in the semifinals (8-6). She got beat by a really tough wrestler in the final. Julia Salata won't be there next year but Hanna Hall will be."

Rosemary Flores (130) and Hannah Gladden each finished fourth for Campbellsville.

Flores ran into Jacarra Winchester, who was wrestling up from 123 pounds, in the semifinals, falling 10-0, and lost a close third place match to Oklahoma City's Brienna Delgado, 2-1, after pinning Delgado in Friday's quarterfinals.

Gladden, a two-sport freshman at CU, was pinned by eventual national champion Hendey in the semifinals, but bounced back with a pin in consolation before losing to Cheyenne Youngblood, 6-3, in the third place match.

"Gladden is a special kid. I don't think she's ever really been taught to wrestle, and she's getting better so fast," Lee Miracle said. "Her level of improvement is so high, I think she can be a national champion next year. She did awesome, just incredible. I'm very proud of her."

CU's fifth-place finishers were Michelle Organ at 155 pounds and freshman Kait Fitzpatrick at 109 pounds.

Organ was 3-1 on the day with three pins. Her only loss came to Porter in the consolation semifinals. Each of the pins put Campbellsville back in second place throughout the day after Oklahoma City claimed brief leads.

"The 155-pound weight class was a little tougher this year. Organ did really well coming through the tournament, scored more bonus points than last year, which really helped us. She was a big reason we got second," Miracle said.

Fitzpatrick, who wowed the crowd Friday with a pin after being down 8-0, did it again Saturday to start the day in the All-America round. She added another pin, and then lost to Cumberlands' Grace Paxton in the consolation semifinals to set up her fifth-place match against King's Ashley Iliff. Fitzpatrick edged Iliff, 15-14, for the win.

"Kait wrestled her tail off. She wrestled better in this tournament then she has all year," Miracle said. "The reason she did well was because of her mental toughness. Over the course of the year she increased her mental toughness where she could be down eight points and come back from it. She's another one of those that's just going to get better and better for us."

CU's last All-American is freshman Shelby Hall, who had a tough draw against top-ranked Sarah Hilderbrandt (King) in Friday's quarterfinal. She bounced back with a pin against Tam Tillman (Wayland Baptist) in 49 seconds Saturday morning in the All-America Round, but dropped her next two matches to finish eighth.

"That weight class is tough. It's very deep. After Hilderbrandt and Winchester, it's wide open. To All-American at 123 as a freshman is an incredible feat," Miracle said.

Two CU wrestlers fell just short of All-America status as Steffanie Hampton (130) lost in the All-America round, after injuring her knee in Friday's quarterfinals, and Kaitlyn Hill (170) dropped her All-America bought. Autumn Rux also went down with a knee injury Friday with potential to finish Top 8.

"You cannot go through a battle like this and not have some casualties," Miracle said. "We had a couple of casualties. We have to get back, heal them up, train some more and go to war again next year."

Campbellsville concludes its second WCWA season but some individuals will continue to compete in USA Wrestling events throughout the spring semester and summer.