Wheeling, W. Va. - Last weekend, the Wheeling University Men's and Women's Swimming teams had one of their most successful weekends of the season as they began the 2023 portion of their schedule. On Saturday, they look to continue that success on Saturday when they host their final regular season conference meet of the season against Fairmont State at 1 PM. Each of the final two swim meets of the 2022-23 regular season will be inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center as the Cardinals look to build momentum towards the 2023 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships.
Last time out, the Cardinals jumped headfirst into MEC play in 2023, competing in a tri-meet against Frostburg State and West Virginia Wesleyan. Both teams had successful days in the pool, with several top three finishes on both the men's and women's side of the event. The women would split the team portion of the event, falling to Fairmont State, and defeating West Virginia Wesleyan, while the men dropped both portions of the competition. However, there were several strong individual swims on the afternoon as the two teams combined to bring home five wins, four silver medals, and two bronze medals.
The women led the day, with five different Cardinals picking up first place finishes on the afternoon, including two swimmers who won two events each. Those two were sophomore Jade Miller and freshman Marra Johnson. Miller got the day started in the 200 Meter Freestyle, where she beat out seven different swimmers with a time of 2:20.23. Johnson's top performance came in the 100 Meter Breaststroke where she claimed the top spot with a time of 1:22.20. Freshman Gabby Baiano also picked up a win at Frostburg State, but her big day came against Salem the day before, when she set the fourth fastest time in school history with a time of 18:34.33 to win the 1650 Yard Freestyle.
For the men, each of their two swimmers had big days on the weekend, with Nathan Yost leading the way against Frostburg State and Ethan Banks taking charge in the meet against Salem. Banks showed off his distance swimming skills, taking second in the 1650 Yard Freestyle against Salem with a time of 8:12.46. It was the first of three events swam on the day for the junior as he added both a fourth and a fifth-place finish to his ledger. Yost came through big against Frostburg State, where he picked up both a silver and a bronze medal on the afternoon. His top race was in the 200 Meter Butterfly, where he earned his second-place finish with a time of 2:30.33.
The Cardinals are now entering the home stretch of their season, with two more regular season meets remaining on the schedule before the 2023 MEC Swimming and Diving Championships. The Cardinals had one individual MEC Champion at last season's event and look to continue to build on that number as they head into this year's championships. With Miller returning stronger than ever and the Cardinal's freshman each showing great growth this year, the team looks to make a run on both the team side and the individual side when the teams converge on Canton, Ohio in four weeks.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the sixth time in program history both on the men's and women's side entering play on Saturday. The men's all-time series has been dead even at three wins a piece, while the Cardinals own the record on the women's side with a record of 5-1. However, this will be just the second meeting between the two teams since the program's reinstatement back in 2020-21. The teams did not meet last season but met during that 2020-21 season in the Alderson Broaddus tri-meet.
Ethan Banks led the way for the men in that last meet, picking up a pair of wins in the 200 Yard Freestyle (57.29) and the 200 Yard Backstroke (17.54). On the women's side, former Cardinal Lauren Thomas led the way with a third-place finish in the 100 Yard Backstroke.
The Details
Saturday's meet is scheduled to begin at 1 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center Natatorium. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE.
