Wheeling, W. Va. - It is the final week of competition before the 2022 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the Wheeling University Track & Field team is splitting up to prepare. Half of the team will end their season competing in the two-day Jesse Owens Classic hosted by Ohio State running Friday and Saturday. This meet will feature competition from all three levels of NCAA competition in what will be the final chances for these athletes to lower their times and lengthen their distances in their specific events.
Only a select group of Cardinals will be making the trip to Ohio State with only seven men and three women making the trip to the meet. They will compete against some of the best of the best in their respective events as they look to improve in their final competitions of the season. On Day 1, only two Cardinals will be competing in the Long Jump and the 200-Meter before the final seven events will compete, with three field events and four track events running to round out their weekend. They will see some of the top competitors in the country and will gauge where they are at on the national scale.
For the men, Brian Vandusen, Jabez Reeves, and Andrew Taylor will all be in action with Vandusen and Reeves competing in multiple events. Vandusen and Taylor come in as the top two High Jumpers in the conference with season-highs of 2.04 meters and 2.05 meters, respectively. Last time out, the pair competed at the Bison Outdoor Classic and they finished first and second respectively. Taylor took the top mark, clearing the 2.04-meter mark on his first try, while Vandusen finished right behind him in second, taking two tries to clear the mark. Reeves will be competing in both the 100-meter and 200-meter at the event as he tries to build off his performance. His best showing was in the 200-Meter, where he finished fourth with a time of 21.59 in his most recent showing.
On the women's side, Tara Perry and Caroline Fodor will both be in action leading the way in the track and field, respectively. Perry will be competing in the Women's High Jump, an event that she has had a lot of success in this season. She is currently the MEC's High Jump leader with her top height being 1.61 meters back at the High Point University Verteklasse. She did not compete in High Jump last time out, returning to the event for the first time in three weeks. Fodor will run in the 800-meter run, and, like Perry, her top time also came at the High Point Verteklasse when she broke the school record in 2:15.14. Both ladies look to maintain their lead in the conference and produce strong showings to finish their competition season.
For the Cardinals, this final week is big for both the men's and women's team as they head into the MEC Championships with different situations. For the women, they are looking to keep a dynasty alive after winning the MEC Outdoor Championships in each of the last three seasons and look to make it four in a row. For the men, they are trying to bring home the first MEC Outdoor Championship in program history after placing as runner ups at last year's event. As of now, Cardina's athletes are the leaders in eight different events heading into the final week of the season and are in the top three in 10 other events. The Cardinals look to end the regular season on a high note and head into the Championships with momentum on their side.
Event Schedule
The Jesse Owens Classic will span two days with most of the Cardinal's action happening on day two of the event. On day one, Wheeling will be in the Long Jump and 200-Meter as Brian Vandusen and Jabez Reeves compete. On day two, Wheeling will compete in the Men's Shot Put, Women's Pole Vault, Men's High Jump, Women's High Jump, Men's 110-Meter Hurdles, Men's 100-Meter, Men's 4x100-Meter, and Women's 800-Meter. Day one's event begins at 1 PM while day two of the event is set to begin at 10 AM.
The Details
Day one of the Jesse Owens Classic kicks off on Friday, April 22nd, with the field events beginning at 1 PM followed by track events at 4:30 PM. You can follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
