Wheeling, W. Va. - The athletes have worked hard all outdoor season and it is finally time to put all of that hard work on display at the 2022 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships. On Sunday, the Wheeling University Men's Track & Field team will join the best of the best that the MEC has to offer in Glenville, West Virginia for day one of the event, beginning at 11 AM. The men have ranked in the top five in the United States Track & Field & Cross Country Coach's Association (USTFCCCA) rankings in two of the five weeks and now search for their first-ever MEC title as a program.
Last time out, the men split up, competing at the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State and the Otterbein Twilight at Otterbein University. While no team scores were recorded at either event, the days were full with personal best performances, headlined by yet another school record falling. Combined at the two events, Wheeling brought home one gold medal performance, but it was another huge step forward for the team as they found themselves back at the #5 ranking in the most recent USTFCCCA Regional Rankings.
Leading the way this past week was sprinter Jabez Reeves, who set his fourth school record of the year, this time in the 100-Meter dash. He broke the record in the qualifying round when he ran a 10.48 to qualify for the events finals later that afternoon. He would then take that record and shatter it finishing fourth in the field with a time of 10.36 seconds. Reeves broke the indoor track & field record in the 60-Meter dash three times during the season and now breaks his first outdoor record. Also at the Jesse Owens Classic, Andrew Taylor had a strong performance, jumping a personal best 2.13 meters to move to second all-time in program history. He was just .04 meters off of the record of 2.17 meters, held by former Cardinal Hong Yong Bi back in 2001.
At the Otterbein Twilight event, it was the distance runners leading the charge as Izaiha Browning led the way competing in both the 1500 Meter and the 800 Meter runs. His best performance came in the 1500 Meter where he took home the team's only gold of the day, running a 4:03.12. The freshman moved into the top 10 in program history with the eighth fastest time in the event. He then ran in the 800-Meter run and, while he didn't come through with another win, he finished fourth breaking the 1:59.00 mark for the first time in his collegiate career with a time of 1:58.91.
This year's MEC Championships will once again take place in Glenville, West Virginia and will feature three days of competition with the track events running all three days and the field events wrapping up on day two of the tournament. For the Cardinals, they are looking for their first MEC Championship in program history and have put together one of their best performing teams in recent years. They finished as runners-up at last year's event and are looking to take that next step in 2022 to get them over the top.
Event Schedule
The 2022 MEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships kick off on Sunday, May 1st, with the multis beginning things at 11 AM. The field events will follow at 1 PM, featuring the Women's Pole Vault, M/W Hammer Throw, M/W Long Jump, M/W Javelin, and Men's High Jump, followed by the track events at 7 PM, with the running of the M/W 10,000-Meter. Day two is a field heavy day with multis beginning at 8:30 AM followed by the field events at 12:30 PM, featuring Women's High Jump, M/W Shot Put, M/W Discus, M/W Triple Jump, and Men's Pole Vault.
The Track events kick off at 4:30 PM with the trial races happening in all the sprinting events followed by the M/W 3,000 Meter Steeplechase. The final day of the Championship features all track events with the sprints, mid-distance, and distance runners all in action beginning at noon and running through 3 PM with the awards ceremony to follow.
The Details
Day one of the 2022 MEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships kicks off on Sunday, May 1st, beginning at 11 AM. Follow along with Live Results by clicking HERE or watch a Live Stream of select events by clicking HERE.
