Wheeling, W. Va. – As the regular season ends, the Wheeling University Men's and Women's Swimming Teams are preparing for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships in mid–February. Their final regular season tune-up will come in their home pool as they host a tri-meet against Chatham and Bethany, with the first events beginning at 1 PM. It will also serve as the team's senior day as they honor their lone senior Meredith Mandal in what will be the final home event of her Cardinal's career.
Last time they took the pool, the Cardinals finished their regular season conference schedule as they took on Fairmont State. It was a big day on the women's side as the team picked up a big 107-83 win to move their record to 4-4, their best mark since the program was restarted back in 2020-21. The women picked up seven total wins, two in relays and five individuals, as they continue their march to the conference championship event. On the men's side, they saw a new member debut in Rua Karimazondo and had one win on the day to go along with a second and third place finish. Both teams continue to show improvement each time they take the pool, leading to a lot of success on both sides.
Leading the way for the women was sophomore Jade Miller, who picked up a pair of individual wins on the day. She began the day in the 200 Yard Individual Medley and had a strong showing with a time of 2:21.45 and ended the day with the 200 Yard Backstroke, where she swam a 2:16.04. Miller was the lone MEC Champion for the Cardinals last year, winning the title in the 200 Yard Backstroke, and she looks to defend her title. The other three individual wins on the day for the Cardinals came from Marra Johnson (200 Breaststroke), Caitlin Oltman (100 Freestyle), and Meredith Mandal (200 Butterfly). This last swim will offer one kore opportunity for the girls to continue their strong season and get ready for the championship event.
On the Men's side of things, it was a big day for sophomore Nathan Yost, who picked up his first collegiate win in the 1000 Yard Freestyle. It was an event that he hasn't swam much in his collegiate career, but he ended up posting a PR time of 10:50.93 and ended up beating the field by nearly a full minute. Yost has shown an ability to compete in the mid-distance and distance events this season, finishing right up there with the marks that his teammate Ethan Banks has hit. Karimazondo made his swimming debut at the event and swam in three different events. His debut event would be his strongest as he swam in the 50 Freestyle and finished fourth with a time of 24.46. He finished just under a second behind the races winner and showed he can be an asset to the team down the stretch.
Saturday's event is serving as a rescheduled event from earlier in the season when the Cardinals were getting their pool ready for home events. The two teams were supposed to swim against Chatham back on October 21st, but the meet was rescheduled for this weekend. Bethany added into the fray a week ago, creating a tri meet opportunity for the Cardinals, their third Tri-Meet of the year. It will give the Cardinals one last opportunity to lower their times, while also getting the chance to honor Mandal, who has given so much to the program. She has helped rebuild the program from the ground up and will be honored before the meet.
The Matchups
Chatham: For both the Men's and Women's Swimming teams it will be the first time that the Cardinals and Cougars have met in the pool in program history. The Chatham women's team sits at 4-6 overall and the Men's Team at 0-9 with the program building up. Their last swims came against Pitt Bradford as the men fell 110-45 while the women won a close battle 77-76.
Bethany: Saturday will mark the third all-time meeting between the Cardinals and Bison and the second meeting this season. The women's team is a perfect 3-0 in those three meetings while Bethany leads the men's all-time series at 1-2. In their first meeting of the year, the Cardinals split against the Bison with the men falling 72-44 while the women picked up a big win at 155-32.
The Details
Saturday's meet is set to kick off on Saturday with the first events scheduled to begin at 1 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center Natatorium. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE.
