Wheeling, W. Va. - After making their first appearance on the National Stage as a Division I program a year ago, the rise of the Wheeling University Rugby program under Head Coach Mike Geibel began. During the 2022-23 season, that rise continued with two more National championship runs and a pair of top 10 finishes in the country. Although the 2022-23 season did not produce the program's first ever national championship, a veteran roster looks poised to continue their growth on the pitch and come back even stronger for the 2023-24 campaign.

The first National Championship run came during the Fall 15's season as the team embarked on a new journey as members of the newly formed Big Rivers Rugby Conference (BRRC). After a tough non-conference loss to Queens University of Charolette and a forfeit win over Mary Washington, things didn't start the way the Cardinals would have liked in conference play. They dropped two of their first three conference games, and a loss to Notre Dame College on homecoming moved their record to 2-4 with three regular season games left. They banded together and picked up big wins against Iowa Central Community College and Adrian to earn a chance to play in the 2022 National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) 15's National Championships. 

They had to go through Adrian once again, in what was their first home playoff game ever at Bishop Schmitt Field, and it was a tight contest throughout. In the end, the Cardinals came out victorious with a late try from Rua Karimazondo that lifted Wheeling to a 31-22 victory. They then moved on to the NCR 15's National Championships and scored another first round home game when they hosted Belmont Abbey. It was a tight defensive game early, and Wheeling tries from Clarouly Meca and Aaron Juma gave Wheeling a 14-6 halftime lead. Rain poured down during the second half, but that only fueled the Cardinals more as Krishna Kwenda pushed across the game winning try, advancing the Cardinals to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history. However, they ran into the #1 seeded Brown University and their playoff run ended as they fell 27-9, with their lone try coming from Joe Iye.

As they entered 7's season in the spring, they were coming off their second national championship run in 2022 and had their eyes on taking the whole thing this season. They came out strong in the regular season, playing in five different tournaments and coming away with victories in all five of those tournaments. Across 23 games during those five tournaments, the Cardinals posted an astounding 21-2 record, including rattling off wins in their first 13 7's games of the season. They would earn the #1 seed in the East Region for the first time in program history and entered the Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) 7's as one of the favorites to take it all.

They made their way down to Washington, DC and opened the tournament against a fairly new program in Howard University. The Cardinals quickly showed their dominance on both sides of the ball, with Aaron Juma scoring two tries on the day and Mohamed Haddar adding a third as Wheeling walked away with a 26-0 victory. Their second-round matchup came against BRRC foe Thomas More, and the Cardinals defense once again had a big showing. They didn't allow a single point for the second consecutive game and Wheeling advanced to the quarterfinals with a 22-0 victory. That is when they would meet the eventual National Champions Mount St. Mary in what was another defensive battle through and through. Nobody got on the board during the first seven minutes of play, but a Mount try on their first second half possession made it 7-0. Juma put up the lone score for the Cardinals, but a missed conversion kick ended their season with a 7-5 loss.

In their first full season as Division I program, Geibel and his crew showed they could compete with some of the top programs across the country. They fell just short of the 30-win mark, going a combined 29-8 between the two seasons and fell just four wins shy of the program wins record, set last year when the team won 33 games between the two seasons. For the second season in a row, the Cardinals were recognized nationally, with freshman Aaron Juma earning an NCR DI All-American honor, just the second in program history. With almost the entire roster coming back for the 2023-24 season, the Cardinals will look to get on the national stage and look to bring home the first national championship in program history once again.

The Wheeling University Rugby team now heads into the offseason as they build towards the 2023 15's season and making it back to the National stage.