FORT WAYNE, Ind. — In just the third year as a program, Campbellsville University women's wrestling has gone from a start-up program to being one of the best in the country. The Lady Tigers proved that this weekend with a third place finish at the NWCA National Duals.
Campbellsville's third place finish is the highest in program history, after finishing in seventh in 2014 and fourth in 2015.
"The girls learned some valuable lessons this weekend," said coach Lee Miracle. "Being a part of a team means sometimes you have to step up and cover others when they make a mistake or have a bad day. Those same teammates will step up and cover you when you need it. We really did that this weekend in so many ways and I couldn't be more proud of our team."
King 27, Campbellsville 14
The day didn't start in favor of Campbellsville, as they ran into the two-time national duals champion, and No. 1-ranked King University. After getting down 12-0, Kayla Miracle rallied with a pin over No. 7 Ricki Liang in 4:18. Then Koral Sugiyama won by split-decision over No. 2 Hanna Gridewood and picked up another three points for the Lady Tigers, cutting the King lead to 12-8.
WCWA All-American's Rosemary Flores and Hannah Gladden both fell in consecutive matches then No. 2 Forrest Molinari sealed the win for King with a win over Hanna Hall.
With King already advancing to the championship duals, Kait Hall did not give in and won with a 10-0 tech fall at 170 pounds before Tiaira Scott fell 10-5 at 191 pounds to No. 5 Jackie Williams.
King and Oklahoma City University are scheduled to wrestling later Saturday evening for the NWCA National Duals championship.
"The loss to King was tough but they are a great team that is currently firing on all cylinders. We are around 85-90 percent right now. I would love to what kind of match it would be with both teams competing at their best," said Miracle.
Campbellsville 26, Cumberlands 20
With third place on the line and dueling with Mid-South Conference foe University of the Cumberlands, Campbellsville had to rally after getting down 13-0 in the first three matches.
Cumberlands swept the first three matches at 101, 109 and 116, but for the fourth time in the tournament, Kayla Miracle pinned her opponent at 123 pounds and her teammates followed suit. Koral Sugiyama knocked off No. 7 Ismileyna Valles with a 12-1 tech fall and was followed with a Rosemary Flores 8-0 win over Kristin Yamasaki at 136 pounds.
Campbellsville took a 17-14 lead after Steffanie Hampton picked up five points for the Lady Tigers via a Cumberlands forfeit at 143-pounds.
Then things got a little iffy in the final three matches. Hannah Gladden fell to No. 1 Jessika Rottier in 4:14 and Cumberlands regained the lead, 18-17. But two-time All-American and 2015 national runner-up Hanna Hall pinned No. 3 Clarc Walker in 3:26 and 2015 national champion Tiaira Scott sealed the best finish for the Lady Tigers in program history with a 9-3 win over No. 2 Alyssa LaFranis.
"Hannah Hall's pin against Cumberlands was huge and just about put the dual in the bag," said Miracle. "All we needed was Tiaira Scott to not get pinned or tech'd. She did even more by knocking off the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country at 191 pounds. It was great to see her wrestle to her potential.
"There were some great individual efforts today," continued Miracle. "Kayla Miracle wrestled extremely well by staying patient and instead of just tech'ing her opponents she picked up pins. Koral Sugiyama and Rosemary Flores wrestled very smart matches and picked up quality wins as well."
The rivalry between Campbellsville and Cumberlands will continue next week, as the Lady Tigers travel to Williamsburg, Ky. on Saturday Jan. 16 for a tri dual with the Patriots and Emmanuel College.
CU will also travel down to King University on Sunday, Jan. 17 for the Tornado Open in Bristol, Tenn.
