Wrestlers · Career complete
Ashley Flavin
2x University National champion; 2007 Pan American bronze; 2008 WCWA runner-up for Oklahoma City; 2019 World Beach Games
West Palm Beach, FL · Oklahoma City University
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 28, 2026
Ashley Flavin, who competed as Ashley Sword, is from West Palm Beach, Florida. As a high school senior in 2001 she won the Florida girls' state title and was named Outstanding Wrestler. She then trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs from 2003 to 2007.
In 2005 she won the University Nationals title and placed third at the World Team Trials, which put her on the U.S. women's national team. In April 2007 she placed fifth at 67 kg, about 148 pounds, at the Senior Women's Freestyle tournament. She won University Nationals again, placed fourth in the World Team Trials Challenge and took bronze at the Pan American Championships.
That summer she transferred to Oklahoma City University, whose women's program began competing that fall. In January 2008 she went 3-0 at the NWCA Women's National Duals and was named Outstanding Wrestler. OCU won the dual title in its first season. At the WCWA championships at OCU in March, Amberlee Ebert of Missouri Valley beat her in the 67 kg final.
In April 2008 she placed third at 67 kg at the Senior Women's Freestyle tournament. At the Olympic Team Trials in June she wrestled at 72 kg and won one of her three bouts. In 2010 she was fourth in the World Team Trials Challenge at 67 kg.
She joined Life University in Marietta, Georgia, as a volunteer assistant in 2015 and became head coach in 2017. In 2019 she won the 70 kg Women's World Beach Games Trials. At the first World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar, that October, she went 1-3 in her pool, beating Marine LeCour Grandmaison of France.
In January 2022, during the 2021-22 season, Life beat Campbellsville 25-19 for its first NWCA National Duals title. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame names her the first woman to lead a team to a dual meet or tournament national championship in women's wrestling.
She is the head coach of Life University's women's team, which won the NAIA national tournament in 2025 and again in 2026.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | High school | Florida girls' state championship | 1st | Also named Outstanding Wrestler, as a senior. Life University lists her school as Lake Worth High School, while Oklahoma City University's roster lists West Palm Beach Lake North. | |
| 2005 | Age group | University Nationals | 1st | The first of her two University National titles. No cited page gives the weight class. | |
| 2005 | Senior | World Team Trials | 3rd | The finish put her on the U.S. women's national team. No cited page gives the weight class. | |
| 2007 | Senior | Senior Women's Freestyle | 67 kg | 5th | 4-2. Lost to Katie Downing of the Sunkist Kids in the quarterfinal and to Stefenie Shaw in the consolation semifinal. Won the fifth-place match by fall over Sherolynn Eppinger of Cumberland. |
| 2007 | Age group | University Nationals | 1st | Her second University National title. No cited page gives the weight class. | |
| 2007 | Senior | World Team Trials, Challenge tournament | 67 kg | 4th | 1-2. Beat Marina Piccolotti of Spartan WC 2-1, 6-4, then lost to Elena Pirozhkova of Gator WC in the semifinal and to Stefenie Shaw of the New York AC for third. |
| 2007 | Senior | Pan American Championships | 3rd | No cited page gives the weight class. | |
| 2007-08 | College | NWCA Women's National Duals | 67 kg | 3-0. Named Outstanding Wrestler. Beat Nena Garcia of Cumberlands 7-0, 5-1, Amberlee Ebert of Missouri Valley 2-0, 3-0 and Ashlee Evans-Smith of Menlo 4-0, 2-0. Oklahoma City won the team title in its first season. | |
| 2007-08 | College | WCWA Championships | 67 kg | 2nd | At Oklahoma City University on March 15, 2008. Amberlee Ebert of Missouri Valley won the final 0-3, 3-0, 1-1. |
| 2008 | Senior | Senior Women's Freestyle | 67 kg | 3rd | 3-1. Lost to OCU teammate Sara Hillard in the semifinal, then pinned Lauren Knight in the third-place match. |
| 2008 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials | 72 kg | 1-2. Pinned Jessica Lynn Smith of Lennox in the Challenge tournament, then lost to Katie Downing and Stephany Lee of the Sunkist Kids. Her final placing is not shown. | |
| 2010 | Senior | World Team Trials, Challenge tournament | 67 kg | 4th | 2-2. Pinned Emma Randall of Lady Eagle WC and beat Ku'u'i'ini Johnson of Team Hawaii. Lost to Kristie Davis of the NYAC in the semifinal and to Brittney Roberts of Gator WC/OCU for third. |
| 2019 | Senior | Women's World Beach Games Trials | 70 kg | 1st | Beach wrestling. USA Wrestling's 2019 U.S. Open results list two women's beach wins for her at 70 kg, both over Kayla Weed. |
| 2019 | Senior | ANOC World Beach Games, Doha | 70 kg | 1-3. Beach wrestling. Beat Marine LeCour Grandmaison of France 3-0, lost to Alina Berezhna of Ukraine, Tatiana Renteria of Colombia and Sofiya Georgieva of Bulgaria, and placed fourth in her pool. Life University's biography lists her eighth. |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it to the operator, Joe Spisak, at joe@spisak.co and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://liferunningeagles.com/staff-directory/ashley-flavin/20 · Life University staff directory. Ashley Flavin has been women's wrestling head coach since the 2017-18 school year after serving as a volunteer assistant from 2015 to 2017. The biography lists her as a 2001 Florida state champion and Outstanding Wrestler from Lake Worth High School and a University National champion in 2005 and 2007. It also lists her as a 2007 Senior Pan American bronze medalist, a 2008 Olympic Team Trials qualifier and eighth at the 2019 Beach World Games.
- https://liferunningeagles.com/sports/womens-wrestling/coaches · Life University, 2025-26 women's wrestling coaching staff. Ashley Flavin is listed as head coach.
- https://liferunningeagles.com/news/2017/4/18/ID_842_131444407124551365_131444407124551365.aspx · Life University, April 18, 2017. Ashley Sword-Buster was named women's wrestling head coach after two seasons as an assistant. She qualified the 72 kg class for Team USA for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete from 2003 to 2007, a 2005 Senior National Team member, a 2007 Pan American bronze medalist and 2008 WCWA runner-up for Oklahoma City University.
- https://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame/women-s-wrestling-experience · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, women's wrestling timeline. It names Life University head coach Ashley Sword Flavin the first female to lead a team to a dual meet or tournament national championship in women's wrestling. Life beat Campbellsville to win the NAIA division of the NWCA National Duals in Louisville, Kentucky. The timeline lists this under 2021, while Life University's 2021-22 schedule dates the final January 7, 2022.
- https://liferunningeagles.com/news/2022/1/7/womens-wrestling-claim-first-ever-nwca-national-duals-championship.aspx · Life University, January 7, 2022. Life beat No. 1 Campbellsville 25-19 in Louisville, Kentucky, for its first NWCA National Duals title.
- https://liferunningeagles.com/sports/womens-wrestling/schedule/2021-22 · Life University, 2021-22 women's wrestling schedule. Life beat No. 1 Campbellsville 25-19 in the NWCA National Team Duals championship in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 7, 2022.
- https://www.ocusports.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/ashley-sword/243 · Oklahoma City University 2007-08 roster. Ashley Sword, a junior from West Palm Beach, Fla., and a 2007 Pan-American bronze medalist, was a girls' state champion and outstanding wrestler as a senior. This page lists her high school as West Palm Beach Lake North, while Life University's biography names Lake Worth High School.
- https://www.ocusports.com/awards.aspx?aow=13&page=5 · Oklahoma City University, Super Star of the Week, January 13, 2008. Sword allowed one point in three matches and was named outstanding wrestler of the NWCA/Cliff Keen Women's National Duals, where the Stars won the dual national title in their first year.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2008/january/21/ocu-rookie-women-s-wrestling-t-17828 · USA Wrestling, January 21, 2008. OCU junior Ashley Sword went 3-0 at 67 kg and was named Outstanding Wrestler as OCU beat No. 1 Cumberlands 22-18 for the NWCA women's national duals title. She was the 2005 and 2007 University National champion and placed third at the 2005 World Team Trials.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2008/march/15/cumberlands-edges-ocu-by-one-p-18326 · USA Wrestling, March 15, 2008. At the WCWA Freestyle National Championships at Oklahoma City University, Amberlee Ebert of Missouri Valley beat Ashley Sword 0-3, 3-0, 1-1 in the 67 kg final.
- https://usawrestlingevents.com/results/1336?query=Sword · USA Wrestling results, April 2007 Senior Women's Freestyle. Her six bouts at 67 kg, ending with a fifth-place match win.
- https://usawrestlingevents.com/results/1297?query=Sword · USA Wrestling results, 2007 World Team Trials. Her three bouts in the 67 kg Challenge tournament, ending in the third-place match.
- https://usawrestlingevents.com/results/758?query=Sword · USA Wrestling results, April 2008 Senior Women's Freestyle. She won the 67 kg third-place match by fall over Lauren Knight.
- https://usawrestlingevents.com/results/779?query=Sword · USA Wrestling results, 2008 Olympic Team Trials. Her three bouts in the 72 kg Challenge tournament.
- https://usawrestlingevents.com/results/725?query=Sword · USA Wrestling results, 2010 World Team Trials. Her four bouts in the 67 kg Challenge tournament, ending in the third-place match.
- https://usawrestlingevents.com/results/168?query=Sword · USA Wrestling results, 2019 U.S. Open. Ashley Sword of Valkyrie won both of her women's beach bouts at 70 kg over Kayla Weed.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_XZFY05JtI · USA Wrestling video, April 2019. Ashley Sword, Women's World Beach Games Trials champion at 70 kg.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2019/october/14/betanzo-sword-compete-in-beach-wrestling-at-world-beach-games · USA Wrestling, October 14, 2019. Ashley Sword of Valkyrie WC went 1-3 in Group B at 70 kg at the first ANOC World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar, beating Marine LeCour Grandmaison of France 3-0. The story calls her Life University's women's head coach and a past member of the U.S. Senior Women's National Team.
- https://liferunningeagles.com/news/2025/3/16/womens-wrestling-record-breaking-performance-secures-life-university-first-ever-naia-championship.aspx · Life University, March 16, 2025. Life won its first NAIA national championship in Wichita with 190.5 team points, an NAIA record, and the NAIA named Ashley Flavin its Coach of the Year.
- https://liferunningeagles.com/news/2026/3/15/womens-wrestlings-secures-back-to-back-naia-national-championships.aspx · Life University, March 15, 2026. The Life women's team won the NAIA team title at the 2026 NAIA Women's Wrestling National Championships in Wichita, its second in a row.
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