Wheeling, W. Va. – With the 2023 portion of the Indoor Track & Field season officially underway, the first rankings for the United Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) are in. The Wheeling University Women's Indoor Track & Field team cracked the top 10 in the initial rankings, finishing as the eighth best team in the region. They were the second highest ranking team in the Mountain East Conference (MEC), earning 145.27 points as they kicked 2023 off with a bang.
They competed at the SPIRE Midwest Open this past week, where they got the opportunity to see different skill levels from across the NCAA. They had strong performances both on the track and in the field and had one individual champion in the 60-Meter Hurdles. To go along with the individual champion, the Cardinals also had four other top five finishes on the afternoon as they prepare for the MEC Championships here in four weeks. Head Coach Patrick Stanton was pleased with his team's performance and looks forward to them building towards that MEC Championship event.
On the track, the Cardinals were led by junior Isha Sesay, who earned the team's lone individual championship of the day. It was Sesay's second win of the year, coming in the 60-Meter Hurdle as she continues to perfect that event. She was one of three Cardinals to qualify for the event finals running a strong 8.98 in the preliminary event. She came back even stronger to claim the win, dropping her time to 8.93 seconds to beat out the nine-runner field. Ka'Niya McGowan was the other top finisher for the Cardinals on the track, picking up furth place finishes in the 60-Meter and 200-Meter Dashes. The junior ran a 7.81 in the 60-Meter and followed it up with a 25.65 mark in the 200 to round out the day.
In the field, it was a big day for thrower Kamille Graham, who earned Wheeling University's Female Cardinals High Flyer of the Week award for her efforts. She competed in two events on the afternoon and set new PRs in both. It began with the Women's Shot Put, where Graham picked up the fourth top five finish of the day, placing fourth with a distance of 11.71 meters. The Women's Weight Throw came next, and Graham once again set a PR finishing 15th at 12.10 meters. Keala McCurry was the final top five finisher for the Cardinals, placing third in the Women's Pole Vault with a height of 3.45 meters.
Leading this week's Regional Rankings was the only MEC team ranked higher than the Cardinals, Charleston with 230.02 points. Behind them were a pair of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Competitors in Shippensburg (228.43) and Slippery Rock (222.89). The rest of the Top 10 for the USTFCCCA Atlantic Regional Rankings looks like this:
1. Charleston (230.02)
2. Shippensburg (228.43)
3. Slippery Rock (222.89)
4. Fayetteville State (167.92)
5. Edinboro (163.15)
6. Kutztown (151.35)
7. East Stroudsburg (145.27)
8. Wheeling (142.93)
9. CAL-U (136.10)
10. Bloomsburg (127.03)
The Wheeling University Indoor Track & Field team returns to action on Friday, January 27th, for day one of the YSU Mid Major.
