Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the last two weeks, the Wheeling University Men's Track & Field team has been climbing the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coach's Association (USTFCCCA) Atlantic Regional Rankings. The week 4 releases are now out, and the Cardinals ranked 6th in the region this week after a strong showing at the Bison Outdoor Classic in Lewisburg, PA. The Cardinals had one gold medal performance on the day as they remained in the top 10 for the third week in a row.
Leading the way for the men was sophomore
Andrew Taylor and senior
Brian Vandusen in the Men's High Jump. It was the lone gold medal finish for the team as
Andrew Taylor took home first place with a height of 2.04 meters. He cleared the height on his first jump and finished just .01 meters below his PR for the event. Right behind him was senior
Brian Vandusen, who came in second in the event with an equal 2.04-meter effort. He cleared the height on his second jump of the day to finish right behind his teammate in the event.
On the track, the Cardinals saw success from a familiar face as
Jabez Reeves competed in two different events, finishing top six in both of those events. He began his day in the 100-Meter dash where he finished sixth overall with a time of 10.63 seconds to begin his day. He followed that up with his best showing of the day in the 200-meter dash, where he finished fourth with a time of 21.59 seconds. It was Reeves' best performance of the outdoor season so far, as he continues to train for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Outdoor Championships in early May.
It is the third week in a row that the Men's track team has appeared in the top 10 of the regional rankings and they have been in the top six of the event in all three of those weeks. They dropped out of the top five this week, just one spot lower than where they came in last week. They are still one of three MEC teams to have made the top 10 in the region this week, with the University of Charleston (2nd) and Concord (9th) making the top 10 list. The Cardinals have been battling with The University of Charleston for the top spot in the conference in terms of regional rankings and have a few more meets before the NCAA Outdoor Atlantic Regional Meet.
The Wheeling University Track & Field team will return to action this week with two different meets this coming week. Some of the athletes will head to the Jesse Owen Classic in Columbus, Ohio on Friday and Saturday while the rest of the team will head to the Robert Morris Invitational on Saturday, April 23rd.
