Wheeling, W. Va. - Last week, the Wheeling University Track & Field team dropped one spot in the standings from the #5 spot to the #6 spot. After competing in two separate meets over the past week, the Cardinals once regained their positioning in the United State Track & Field & Cross-Country Coach's Association (USTFCCCA) week 5 rankings, coming in at #5. They were able to produce some personal best performances and even took down a school record to regain their spot.

The Cardinals split up in their final week of regular season play with some athletes heading to the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State while the other athletes headed to the Otterbein Twilight Event. The distance runners led the way for the Cardinals, securing the team's lone gold medal performance, at the Otterbein Twilight, while the sprinters took center stage at the Jesse Owens Classic, with a school record falling not once but twice at the event.

At the Jesse Owens Classic sophomore Jabez Reeves, who won this week's Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Week award, led the way competing in both the 100 and 200-Meter dash. In the qualifying round of the 100-Meter, Reeves broke the school record when he ran the race in 10.48 seconds to qualify for the finals. He then came back in the finals and shattered that record, running a 10.34 to take home fourth place in the event. Andrew Taylor followed him up with a PR performance in the Men's High Jump, clearing 2.13 meters to place himself second all-time on the Wheeling University Men's High Jump list, just .04 meters behind Hong Yong Bi for the school record.

At the Otterbein Twilight, it was all about the distance runners as freshman Izaiha Browning continued his strong run during outdoor season. He competed in both the 1500-Meter and the 800-Meter and brought home the team's only gold medal performance of the event. The win came in the Men's 1500-Meter run where he set a new PR with a time of 4:03.12, placing him ninth in program history. He followed that up by running in the 800-Meter, where he took home another top five finish and set another PR with a time of 1:58.91 as he broke the 1:59.00 mark for the first time in his career.

It is the fourth straight week that the Cardinals have appeared in the top 10 ranking in the region, and the second time that they have cracked the top 10. They were one of three MEC team's honored on this week's list, with The University of Charleston (#2) and Concord (#9) also making the list. Shippensburg took the top spot in this week's rankings as Wheeling looks to continue to climb the rankings. They head to the MEC Championships beginning on Sunday and look to bring home the first conference championship in program history.

The Wheeling University Men's Track & Field team gets back in action on Sunday, May 1st, when they open the 2022 MEC Outdoor Championships at 10 AM.