Wheeling, W. Va. - As 2022 ends, we look back at the year in Wheeling University Athletics as we head into 2023 looking for even more growth. It was a year full of ups and downs with big moments on and off the field, for each of Wheeling's athletic teams. From conference championships to playoff appearances, to milestone career moments, it all made up another fun year for the Cardinals coaches, players, and fans alike.
As the calendar flipped from 2021 to 2022, the winter sports kicked things off as they continued their 2021-22 seasons. The year's success began quickly, with the first milestone coming two weeks into the new year. Senior Men's Basketball player
Jarett Haines would become the 49th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark on January 15th when he put up 27 points against Frostburg State. He was the second player to reach the 1,000-point mark that season, with
Jordan Reid hitting the mark earlier in the year, and it started the year off in a celebratory mode for the department.
The first Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship event of the year came in mid-January when Wheeling Wrestling headed to the 2022 MEC Championships. With a young team in tow, the Cardinals managed to have three placers at the event, the most for the team since the program was brought back during the 2020 season.
Chase Montgomery led the way with a fifth-place finish in the 133-pound weight class, while
Clarouly Meca (285) and
Brennon Reid (157) each took home fifth place in their respective weight classes. It was a strong start to what would be a big year for the team.
As January gave way to February, the first crossover season of the year began with spring sports starting as winter sports made way for the stretch run. Wrestling would once again make its way into the spotlight on February 10th when they took down Bluefield State 25-24. It was the team's first home dual win since the 2019 season as they continued to take steps forward with the 2022 season ending. A week later, the Wheeling Swimming team took on the 2022 GMAC/MEC Championships and had their first individual conference champion since the program was reinstated.
Freshman swimmer
Jade Miller would become the first freshman in MEC history to win the individual title in the 200-Yard Backstroke. She began the day swimming a 2:09.18 and came back to place sixth overall, and first among her conference opponents. It was another milestone moment for a young Cardinal program as they built the foundation for growth. As February came to an end, both basketball teams would clinch the #9 seeds in the 2022 MEC Men's and Women's Basketball tournaments, kicking off the first MEC Championship runs of the season. Both teams would be in action in the first-round as they tried to punch their tickets to the MEC Quarterfinals.
The Wheeling Women's Basketball team opened their tournament run against Alderson Broaddus, who they had come close to beating twice during the regular season. The Cardinals got out to a fast start, with 19 first quarter points, but trailed 36-33 at halftime. The Cardinals turned it on during the second half, scoring 25 points and it was enough to come away with the 68-62 victory. However, their run ended in the MEC Quarterfinals when they ran into the eventual DII National Champions in Glenville State. On the Men's side, they opened with Glenville State in what promised to be a high-scoring affair. The Cardinals got off to a fast start and it helped them secure a 78-72 victory. They would then take on rival West Liberty in the Quarterfinals, but ended up falling in a close battle 89-81 to end the run.
With March in full swing, it wouldn't take long for the spring sports to get involved in the action as Men's Lacrosse provided our next milestone moment. They took on Felician University in their 2022 home opener and went to overtime with the game tied at 7-7.
Joshua Wolford would come through with a big save and fed the ball downfield.
Jacob Knippel was there waiting and took the open shot to give Wheeling an 8-7 overtime win. It was the first home win for the program since the 2018 season and kick started what would be the best season since that 2018 year.
The following week brought the first National Championship event of the year when the Wheeling Men's Track & Field team sent a pair of athletes to the 2022 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships. Sprinter
Jabez Reeves kicked off the event, running in the 60-Meter Dash and placed 15th in the field, competing in his first National Championship event. The other competitor for the Cardinals was
Brian Vandusen, who competed in the High Jump. He would take home 14th in the event as the Cardinals were well represented on the national stage. As March rolled into April, the spring sports kept going as strong as ever. Big wins for Wheeling Rugby, Baseball, and Softball lined the schedule, including the first-ever clean-sweep of a 7's tournament by Wheeling Rugby at the WVU Chicken 7's.
With May flowers beginning to bloom, there would be one final push to the national stage with Wheeling Rugby, Women's Golf, Men's Golf, and Outdoor Track & Field making it to the big stage.
Leading the charge was the Wheeling Women's Golf team, who made their first team appearance in the Regional Tournament in program history. As a team, the Cardinals placed 15th in the field but got valuable experience against some of the top teams in the region. Leading the way for the Cardinals was
Emily Holzopfel, who tied for 72nd in the field after bouncing back over days two and three of the tournament. On the Men's side,
Yadhu Urs represented the Cardinals, going to the event as an individual. He sat in position to go to the National Championships heading into day three, but ended up placing 11th and just missing the bid.
Track was next up as they once again sent two athletes to the event in sprinter
Jabez Reeves and jumper
Andrew Taylor. Reeves was in his second National Championship event of the season and placed ninth in the event. The next day, Taylor competed in his first National Championship event in the High Jump and would place eighth. Both earned Second Team All-American awards for their efforts and helped to continue to grow the Men's Track & Field team as they headed into summer.
The Wheeling Rugby team had their own run on the national stage as they went to the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) CRC 7's in New Orleans, Louisiana. They opened against Harvard and won their first game 35-7 to advance in the tournament. After beating St. Bonaventura, the Cardinals hit their first bump in the road against Lindenwood that would move them to the consolation bracket. They would take down Penn State in their first match of the consolation bracket but would have their run ended when they fell to Indiana. They finished the year as the #6 team in the nation for 7's play and ended what was a strong 2021-22 athletic season.
The summer months brought on new opportunities as the university welcomed several new coaches into the Cardinal's family. The first of those new coaches was Head Women's Basketball Coach Anna Kowalska, who joined the Cardinal family in early June. Shortly after, both soccer programs picked up new leaders with the hiring of Head Men's Soccer Coach Brandon Regan, who took the program over from his father, and Head Women's Soccer Coach Emmanuel Awotula. The final hiring of the summer saw Head Men's Golf Coach Rich Conwell join the family as he was set to lead the Men's Golf program.
That cycled into the Fall season for the 2022-23 athletic year in what was one of the most successful fall seasons for the university. The Wheeling University Football team came out strong with wins in three of their first four games, which kickstarted the best season in program history. They set the new program record for wins in a season, going 7-4 overall and 6-4 in MEC play. After being picked eighth in the preseason poll, the Cardinals sat in third place and were in the thick of the NCAA DII playoff race heading into week nine. However, they would be unable to make the playoffs but sent the seniors off in style with an overtime game-winning field goal against Fairmont State in their final game of the season.
Four of the five competing teams made their respective conference Tournaments this year, including historic runs for both the Women's and Men's soccer teams. For the Women, it was their first-ever tournament appearance in program history as they headed to #1 seeded Frostburg State. For the men, they set out a goal at the beginning of the year to make one of the top four spots and did just that, capturing the fourth seed. They would host #5 seeded West Virginia Wesleyan in the first round and picked up a 1-0 win to move on to the semifinals, they would then fall to #1 Charleston, ending their season. The deepest playoff run came courtesy of the Wheeling Volleyball team as they traveled down to The University of Charleston as the #1 seed from the MEC North Division.
They opened tournament play against Glenville State and took home a 3-0 win to start tournament play. It would be a special edition of "The Battle for Wheeling" in the semifinals for a chance at making the MEC Championship game. The Cardinals would drop the first set putting them in a hole early on. However, they battled back and took each of the next three sets to pick up a 3-1 win and advance to the MEC Championship game for the 10th time in program history. Once there, they would take on the host University of Charleston, who handed Wheeling their lone conference loss during the regular season. The Cardinals would once again drop set one, but once again came back to take three straight, claiming their 10th MEC Championship. They went on to the 2022 NCAA DII Tournament, where they advanced to the semifinals before falling to Clarion 3-1.
The final playoff run saw the Wheeling Rugby team participate in a couple of firsts during the run. It began with the first-ever Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC) wild card playoff game. They took on conference opponent Adrian College for a chance at making the NCR 15's National Playoffs. They picked up a 31-22 win and advanced to the first round of the National playoffs for the first time in program history. They would take on Belmont Abbey in the first round of action and picked up a 19-13 win to make it to the NCR Quarterfinal round. Once there, they would face-off with the eventual DI National Champions in Brown University and fell 27-7 ending their run.
That leads us to where we are now with the basketball seasons going strong as well as Indoor Track & Field and Wrestling preparing for the 2023 portion of their schedules. 2022 was a fun year and we look forward to much more success in 2023 and beyond.
