Wheeling, W. Va. - After a few schedule changes over the past week, the Wheeling University Track and Field team is set to compete on Friday at the Youngstown State Indoor Invitational at 12:30 pm. The team was originally supposed to be headed to the SPIRE Midwest Invitational, but after that event got canceled, Wheeling decided to make its second of three trips to Youngstown, Ohio during the indoor season. 

The Cardinals took to the track just under a week ago and had a big day at the Otterbein Snow Globe Event. Between the two teams, Wheeling had seven individual championships and racked up several top five finishes across both the track and field. For the field events, it was a chance for them to make their season debuts, while the track events looked to continue to build off their times. This meet was a chance to see where the team fitness level was after Christmas break, and the Cardinals did not disappoint. 

The biggest performer of the day was senior Caroline Fodor, who picked up two individual championships in the 400-meter dash and the 800-meter run. On the field side, Kamille Graham made her season debut in the shot put and ended up winning the event with a distance of 10.77 meters. She was one of several athletes who competed both on the track and the field, playing a huge role in her team. Tara Perry also competed in both the Long Jump and the 60-Meter Hurdles, picking up top five finishes in each event to round out a strong day for the women. 

On the men's side the Cardinals had three individual champions, with Jabez Reeves taking the first gold medal in the first event of the day. He won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.91, missing his school record by just .05 seconds. Jacob Pielech would become the second individual champion for the men, winning the 400-meter dash, and Brian Vandussen would round out the day with a win in the long jump when he leaped 6.84 meters. 

It was a strong start to the 2022 portion of both team's schedules as they get ready to return to a place, they are getting very familiar with this season. Friday will mark the second of three times the Track & Field team will compete at Youngstown State this season, with the last time being in the first event of the indoor season. Head Track & Field coach Patrick Stanton praised Youngstown State for putting on such great events throughout the season, and said once the SPIRE Midwest classic got canceled, it was an easy decision to head to Youngstown State instead. 

The Matchup 

The Wheeling University Track and Field team has become very familiar with the Watson & Tressel Training Center at Youngstown State over the years, competing in four different events there over the past three seasons. Their most recent venture to the WATT came earlier this season on December 3rd, 2021, when they competed at the YSU Icebreaker Event. 

It turned out to be a big day for the Cardinals with 11 different athletes reaching their PRs on the track in their first event of the season. The big moment of the day came early on when Jabez Reeves set the school record in the 60-meter dash, running the event in 6.86 seconds. While Wheeling did not have anyone win their events, they had several competitors finish in the top 10 as they started the Indoor season off strong. 

The Details 

Friday's Youngstown State Indoor Invitational is set to begin at 12:30 pm inside the WATT on the campus of Youngstown State. Check back here at wucardinals.com after the event for coverage and results from the meet.