Wheeling, W. Va. - After five long months of training and competition, the Wheeling University Men's and Women's Swimming teams are ready to lay it all on the line against the best in the conference. They head to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC)/Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships starting Wednesday and running through Saturday. Each day of the competition features preliminary races at 10 AM followed by the finals later that night at 6 PM with 10 events competing each day.
The last time the Cardinals took the pool was back on January 29th when they competed at Fairmont State in a tri-match with Alderson Broaddus. In that meet, Wheeling picked up four first place finishes as some of their top swimmers got momentum on their side. Overall, the team continued to improve on their times and head into this year's championship event with more experience on their side, having swam against some of the best the conference has to offer already this season.
Leading the charge for the women's team has been freshman Jade Miller, who has secured five wins in her last two events. The two-time MEC Female Swimmer of the Week has been a workhorse for the Cardinals this season, scoring three gold medals in two different meets this season. She looks to be one of the best in the conference in the 200-meter individual medley and the 100-yard Backstroke while competing in a few other events for her team. Fellow freshman Macie Williams has been coming on strong over the last few weeks, winning both the 100-yard Fly and 100-yard Freestyle in her last two events. She looks to keep her momentum going as she heads into her first conference championship event.
On the men's side, the Cardinals bring in one experienced swimmer and one who is competing in their first championship event. Sophomore Ethan Banks will be competing in his second conference championship and is coming off a meet where he scored his first win of the year. He won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:46.45 to earn his first gold medal of the season. Banks leads the Wheeling men into the competition looking to build off his success from that final meet of the year.
On Wednesday, Wheeling will be going up against Fairmont State, Davis & Elkins, Frostburg State, West Virginia Wesleyan, Notre Dame College, Malone, Ashland, and Findlay. They have raced against most of those teams already this season and know what to expect. The Cardinals have one swimmer competing in their second GMAC/MEC Championship events in Ethan Banks as they look to lead Wheeling. While they are still a young program getting their feet wet in championship events, they will be competing to bring the third MEC Championship of the year back to Wheeling.
The History
At last season's MEC Championship event, Wheeling brought two swimmers last season, former Cardinal Beth Pharo, and sophomore Ethan Banks. Banks swam strong for the Cardinals but couldn't help them earn a placing in the pool. With more competitors this season, Wheeling is looking to climb the leader board and become a strong contender in the GMAC/MEC for years to come.
The Details
Day one of the GMAC/MEC Championships begins Wednesday with the preliminaries at 10 AM followed by the finals at 6 PM. You can watch the preliminaries HERE and come back for the finals HERE.
