Wheeling, W. Va. – Over the first month and a half of the season, the Wheeling University Swimming team has been preparing for the Malone Midseason Invitational. On Wednesday, the team will swim in their final tune-up as they competed against the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in dual meet action with first swims beginning at 2 PM. Both teams have gotten off to identical 7-2 starts to the season and look to continue that hot streak into their final dual meet of the first half.
Last time out, the Cardinals competed in their second Mountain East Conference (MEC) event of the season, swimming against Davis & Elkins in dual meet action. It was a big day for both teams, with both the men and women picking up 10 wins on the day. Both teams set the tone early, picking up wins in the 200-Yard Medley Relay to start off the event. As the day went on, the wins kept on coming throughout the individual events. On the Men's Side, the Cardinals picked up wins in 11 of the 13 events, while the women would pick up 10 wins across 13 events on the day. In the end, both teams would earn their second MEC dual meet wins of the season, and as a result of the big day, both would be recognized in the weekly MEC Swimmer of the Week honors.
On the men's side, it was freshman Euan MacLeod who earned the MEC Male Swimmer of the Week honors after a historic day in the poo. MacLeod would take on both the 100-Yard Backstroke and the 100-Yard Freestyle and set new pool records in both events. His fastest time of the day would come in the 100-Yard Backstroke, when he swam a time of 52:11, setting his biggest pool record of the day. It was the second time this season that the freshman had broke a pool record and he wasn't done as he entered the 100-Yard Freestyle. He would set his third pool record of the season, this time by a margin of just 0.1 seconds, swimming a time of 47.12 seconds, but it was enough to continue to write his name in the program record books.
On the women's side, senior Jade Miller continued to be a leader for the Cardinal program, picking up four wins as part of the 10 win effort for her team. Three of those four wins would come in the individual events, as Miller competed in each of her top events on the day. The first was the 100-Yard Backstroke, where she picked up a three second win with a time of 1:02.25 to get her day started. Her final two swims would be her fastest of the day as she won the 200-Yard Backstroke by six seconds (2:14.44) and the 200-Yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:20.61. She was also one of the legs of the Cardinal's 200-Yard Medley Relay team, helping the foursome swim a time of 1:58.06 to take the top spot in the day's first event.
As the Cardinals begin to bring the first half of the 2024-2025 season to a close, both teams have put up strong numbers to start the year. For the men, it is their best start since the program's first season in 2011-12, when the team started the year 7-2 and went on to add two more wins to bring their total record to 9-2, which is still the program record for wins in a single-season. The women are on the same pace that they were on a season ago, when they started the first half of the season sitting 7-2 through nine dual meets. With the Malone midseason meet coming next week, the Cardinals are looking to take advantage of a short-meter course at WVU Tech as they get their last swims in before the midseason event.
The Matchup
Men: The Cardinals and Golden Bears will be meeting for the second time in program history, with WVU Tech leading the all-time series at 2-0. However, this will be the first time that Wheeling has traveled to Montgomery, West Virginia, and its just the second time the two teams have met since the program's return from hiatus. Wheeling has scored 69 or more points in each of the first two meetings between the two teams and looks to continue its high scoring on Wednesday. The last meeting between the two teams came on October 21st, 2023, when WVU Tech picked up a 132-66 victory. Former Cardinal Jiwh Santos led the way with wins in the 200-Yard Backstroke and the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay team.
Women: The Cardinals Golden Bears are meeting for the second time in program history, with the series tied at one win apiece. Wheeling is averaging 95 points per dual meet against the Golden Bears and, since the program has come back from hiatus, the Cardinals are 1-0, scoring 121 points in the last meeting between the two squads. That meeting would come on October 21st, 2023, when the Cardinals pulled out a 121-43 victory to keep their success going. The Cardinals would win every event they swam in on the day with Grace Moorley, Jade Miller, and Sofia Castillo each picking up multiple wins on the day.
The Details
First swims for Wednesday's dual meet are scheduled for 2 PM inside the YMCA of Southern West Virginia. You can watch the action live by clicking HERE.
