Wheeling, W. Va. - Throughout the season, the Wheeling University Cross Country team has been training for the 2022 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships. On Saturday, all that hard work will be put to the test as they compete against the best of the best in the conference for a chance at the 2022 MEC Championships at Oglebay. The Men's race will kick-off the morning at 9:30 AM, followed by the Women's race shortly after at 10:30 AM.

Last time out, the Cardinals took on the Lockhaven University Go Fast River Run in what was their final tune-up of the regular season. Head Coach Patrick Stanton wanted to give his team a "fast course" to run to show them what they could do, and the Cardinals took advantage. Both teams had several PRs on the day as they took advantage of the faster course. In total all five female runners set season-best times for the day while the men saw one runner PR on the day. Stanton wanted to show his runners what they were capable of and give them the confidence that they needed as they get set to battle some of the top competition from around the MEC.

Leading the way on the women's side was senior Savanaugh Anderson, who finished 17th in the field with a time of 22:42.30. It was the first time in her collegiate career that Anderson cracked the 22-minute mark, and she finished as the top 6K runner in the MEC for the week. Sydney Hambel and Caroline Fodor wrapped up the top three for the Cardinals, finishing 37th and 68th respectively. Hambel ran an impressive 23:27.10, breaking the 24-minute mark for the first time in her career, and Fodor added a 24:35.70 to round out the top three. All three women have been leaders for the team this season and look to continue that as they head into Saturday's event.

For the men, Izaiha Browning once again paced the squad with a 70th place finish, posting a time of 27:18.30 in the 8K race. While it wasn't a PR for the sophomore, he continues to get better as he is set to pace the men on the course. Hunter Tomich and Julius Hobbs rounded out the top three for the Cardinals, with only four runners competing for Wheeling. Tomich cracked the 29-minute mark with a 28:33.40 while Hobbs PR'ed for the second week in a row with a time of 29:30.20. The young Cardinals continue to build on their successes each time out and look to show how they can compete with the rest of the conference.

The 2022 MEC Championship will once again be held at Oglebay Park just a short drive away from the campus. It is a challenging and unpredictable course according to Stanton, with a mostly hilly terrain for the runners to deal with. The team has been going through hill workouts throughout the regular season all in preparation for this race. With both teams having successes and failures throughout the year, they will look to put together their strongest performances yet as they compete for the championship and All-MEC honors throughout the day. The top 10 finishers will be named All-MEC First Teamers while 11th-20th will earn All-MEC Second Team Honors.

The Course