Marietta, Georgia – June 6, 2024 –  The National Wrestling Coaches Association announces Life University’s (Life U) Head Women’s Wrestling Coach Ashley Flavin as a 2024 Trailblazer Award Honoree. Flavin is among two others to receive this honor for 2024. The inaugural honorees for the Trailblazer Award honor those who have championed the sport of women’s wrestling in the collegiate space. Flavin’s nomination was one of the top awardees.

“There is so much great work that has been done to lay the foundation for the growth of Women’s Wrestling, and it is bolstering our sport overall,” NWCA President Tony Ersland said. “Honoring these individuals for their part in building our sport is something the NWCA is proud and excited to do.”

Flavin is the first woman to win an NWCA Coach of the Year honor and is the force behind the perennial NAIA powerhouse Life U Women’s Wrestling team. She was a state champion for Lake Worth (Florida) High School in 2001 and spent five years as a resident athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center. She was a runner-up at the Women’s College Wrestling Championships for Oklahoma City University, a 2008 Olympic Team Trials Qualifier, 2008 US Open Bronze Medalist, and a US Open Bronze Medalist and World Team Trials Qualifier in 2011.

The first woman to lead a program to a National title, Flavin did so with the 2022 NWCA National Duals championship won by Life U’s Running Eagles. During her decade at the helm of the Life U women’s wrestling program, she has produced two team national championships, five individual National Champions, more than 30 All-Americans, five Olympic Team Trials Qualifiers, 11 World Team Trials Qualifiers and a World Team Member.

The 2024 Trailblazer Awards will be presented at the Celebration of Women in Wrestling, on July 27, as a part of the 2024 NWCA Convention in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

For more information about Life U’s Women’s Wrestling team and Life U Athletics, visit LifeRunningEagles.com.

For more information about Life University, visit life.edu.

Founded in 1974, Life University is a health sciences institution most known for its College of Chiropractic, the largest single-campus College of Chiropractic in the world. Undergraduates can pursue 11 undergraduate degrees; a pre-chiropractic, degree-seeking pathway; and two graduate degrees within the College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies. Some degree programs are offered to distance learners through the College of Online Education.

Life University strives to empower our students to succeed both professionally and personally. At Life U, we innovate our approach to higher education, while also remaining true to our philosophical commitment to produce informed leaders who exemplify humanistic values in their professions. To achieve this goal, Life U recognizes and demonstrates its dedication through three official Life University Values: Lasting Purpose, Vitalism and Integrity.

Life U’s 110-acre campus in Marietta, Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta, is home to more than 2,700 undergraduate, graduate and professional students who come from all 50 United States and more than 65 countries.

 

 

About Life University

Life University is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, master’s and Doctor of Chiropractic degrees, and also has programmatic accreditation through the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) and the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). The mission of Life University is to empower students with the education, skills and values necessary for career success and life fulfillment, based on a vitalistic philosophy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]