MARIETTA, Ga. — The No. 2 Life University men's wrestling team put on a strong performance Friday night, securing a 33-14 victory over Reinhardt University. The Running Eagles dominated the upper weights, winning seven of ten bouts to continue their impressive season.

The dual started at 125 lbs, where Angel Banda (Reinhardt) put his team on the board early with a 22-7 technical fall at 4:42 over Mikey Doerr, giving Reinhardt a 5-0 lead. Life U responded at 133 lbs, where Thaddeus Long delivered a 20-4 technical fall at 6:31 over Leland Camp to even the score.

Reinhardt regained momentum at 141 lbs, as Garrett Pace secured a 10-5 decision over Jordan Mitchell, putting Reinhardt ahead 8-5. At 149 lbs, Reinhardt extended its lead when Devin Griffen pinned Jacob Johnson at 4:22, making it 14-5 in favor of Reinhardt.

However, Life U took control from that point forward. At 157 lbs, Fabian Padilla dominated with a 17-2 technical fall at 7:00 over AuShaud Evans, cutting the deficit. Reese Jones followed at 165 lbs with a clutch 11-8 decision victory over Nathan Napolitano, officially shifting the momentum in Life U's favor.

At 174 lbs, Alexander Couto put on a show, earning a 17-2 tech fall at 5:15 over Wyatt Higgins. Life U continued to roll at 184 lbs, where Jesse Perez pinned Jonathon Paramore at 3:33, giving the Running Eagles a comfortable lead.

The dominance continued at 197 lbs, as Khalil Abdushshakur secured another fall at 6:07 over John Lovett. In the final match of the night, Earnest Johnson (285 lbs) delivered a 4-1 sudden victory over Caleb Pruitt, sealing Life U's commanding win.

Head coach Omi Acosta, shared his thoughts on the atmosphere and night in the Upper Gym, "It was a great night and a great night to honor all our Seniors here for the work they have done for our program. I would also like to take a moment to thank God for allowing us to compete and for both teams to get out with no injuries. We came back from behind and, you know, Reinhardt, they're a great team, and they're local, and I'm really proud of how my guys responded and that the environment matched the excitement in the building." He then continued, "It's hard to wrestle here, it's tough to come here and, respectfully, we went out there and beat Reinhardt… Now it's time to focus on conference and getting healthy and ultimately choosing our 12. I want to once again thank everyone that supports Life U Wrestling! LUCHA!"  

Up next, the Running Eagles will regroup and look to defend their AAC Tournament Title in two weeks. The conference tournament will be hosted at Life University on Feb. 21-22nd.