2017-18 Men’s & Women’s Bowling
Both the men and women’s team advanced
to the Mid-South Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals in their fourth year under
Head Coach Jeff Halen. The men fell in the
quarterfinals to eventual champion Martin
Methodist, while the women put a hard-
fought battle but fell to Cumberlands 4-2. In
the second round, the women knocked off the
regular season Champions Pikeville 4-3 with
a 175-170 win in the tie-break game. Juwan
Wallace for the men and Amber Beene for the
women earned Second-Team All-Conference
honors, while Annamarie Giangiacomo and Jake
Hafermalz were named to the MSC Academic All-
Conference Team.
2017-18 Women’s Wrestling
The women finished 13th at the WCWA National
Championships and picked up three All-
Americans under third year Head Coach Ashley
Sword. Alanda Nguyen, Jennifer Juarez and
Brooke Pagan each were named All-Americans.
Juarez and Jordan Nelson were each named First-
Team All-Conference members, as Zoe Wright,
Stephanie Pontoja and Alyssa Martinez garnered
Second-Team All-Conference honors. Jacalyn
Fields and Nadine Fiege were also named to the
MSC Academic All-Conference Team.
2017-18 Men’s Wrestling
In his second year at the helm of the program,
Head Coach Omi Acosta earned Life University
its first Men’s Wrestling National Champion in
Nosomy Pozo at the 157-pound weight class.
Pozo defeated the reigning National Champion
4-3. Dalton Bailey also earned All-American
honors with a National Runner-Up at the
197-pound division. Mason Calvert was the
third All-American on the team with a sixth-
place finish in the 141-pound division. The
team finished eighth at nationals, as both Pozo
and Bailey captured First-Team All-Conference
honors. Calvert was named to the Second-Team
All-Conference, and Logan Chastain and Tim
Randolph earned MSC Academic All-Conference
accolades. Randolph was also named a
Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete.
2018 Women’s Rugby
In her fourth year at the helm of the women’s
rugby program, Head Coach Rosalind Chou
finished with a 28-5 overall record. The women
played astonishingly well in the USA Rugby
D1 Elite playoffs, winning 233-0 in the first
two matches. The team then ventured out to
California for the Semifinal against two-time
defending National Champion Penn State. The
Running Eagles bested the Nittany Lions for the
first time in program history 17-15 to advance
to the National Championship, where the
team would finish the 15s season as National
Championship Runner-Ups. At the USA Rugby
College 7s National Championships in Colorado,
the team again fell to Lindenwood 17-14, but
defeated Army 22-21 to capture third place
at the event. Finally, the team prepared itself
for the Collegiate Rugby Championships in
Philadelphia, where the team fell to Lindenwood
17-14 in the semifinals. The women defeated
NSCRO in the third-place match to capture
bronze. Malery Billingly and Kaitlyn Broughton
were named by USA Rugby as Collegiate 7s All-
Americans.
2018 Men’s Rugby
In his first year at the helm of the men’s rugby
program, Head Coach Colton Cariaga led them
to a 21-1 overall record in both 15s and 7s. The
team capped off a dominating performance in
the USA Rugby D1A National Championships,
as CBS Sports traveled to campus to witness a
69-14 victory over Penn State, which sent the
Running Eagles to the National Championship
in Santa Clara, Calif. There the team put on
an offensive display in a 60-5 victory over
Cal to claim the USA Rugby D1A 15s National
Championship, their third in six seasons. With
a short turnaround, the team then went to
Philadelphia to compete in the Collegiate Rugby
Championships where they finished 3-0 after
the first day of action. A tough 12-5 win over
Penn State in the Quarterfinals saw the men
fall to Lindenwood 17-7 in the semifinals to end
the 7s run and the season. Both Duncan Van
Schawlkwyk and Harley Wheeler were named
by USA Rugby as First-Team All-Americans for
Collegiate 7s, while Mitch Wilson was named to
the Second-Team. At the end of the year, eight
members of the 15s team were named to the
D1A Rugby Mid-South Conference All-Conference
Team.
2018 Women’s Track and Field
Both the indoor and outdoor Running Eagles
displayed success this season, as the indoor
4x400 team of Elizabeth Skipper, Nylah Brown,
Angerika Colbert and Imani Williams took
First-Team All-Conference honors, and Monique
Keene earned First-Team honors as well in the
long jump. Skipper also earned Second-Team All-
Conference honors in the 800m indoor race and
the 800m outdoor race. The same relay team in
the 4x400 earned Second-Team All-Conference
honors at the MSC Outdoor Championships.
Skipper was named to the MSC Academic
All-Conference Team, as well as being a NAIA-
Daktronics Scholar Athlete.
Looking forward to the 2018-19 Life
U Running Eagles seasons, plenty of
optimism abounds throughout the
programs. Great mixes of experienced
players, terrific new recruits and a few new
leaders at the helm look to provide more
conference and national championship
hardware for the trophy cases in
Marietta, Georgia.
Alumni.LIFE.edu | 2018
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