Youngstown, OH. - The Indoor Track & Field season kicked off from Youngstown, Ohio as the Wheeling University Men's Track & Field team competed at the 2024 Youngstown State Icebreaker. The Cardinals headed into the day looking to find their benchmarks before they hit the Christmas break, and they did just that with strong performances throughout the day. The team finished with two top 10 finishes on the day as they carry their momentum into the Christmas break.
Leading the way in the field events was jumper Kabwe Bwalya, who competed in the Men's Triple Jump. He would end up taking sixth overall at the event, jumping a distance of 13.23 meters, and finishing fifth among NCAA DII competitors. In each of his three flights, Bwalya improved his distance each time and finished with his best jump to hit the 13.23 meter mark. It was just .52 meters shy of his PR in the event as he started his indoor season with a bang. The second top 10 finish on the day would come from the track courtesy of freshman Magnus Polkner. After a strong showing in Cross Country season, Polkner continued that success into Track & Field, finishing seventh with a time of 9:11.33. He finished second among Mountain East Conference (MEC) competitors and looks to build off his strong start.
Polkner's performance was the start of a big overall day for the distance crew as Shane Levesque competed in the Men's 5000 Meter. Levesque just missed cracking the top 20, finishing 21st overall with a time of 16:15.71. The sprinters would take the track next and Jan Wray would lead the group, taking 29th in the 60-Meter Dash Qualifiers. He ran a time of 7.28, missing his PR by .14 seconds. As the mid-distance events began their run, Drew Pierce would compete in the 400-Meter dash, and picked up a 43rd place finish with a time of 56.22. Wray and Pierce would each hit the track one more time on the day, competing in the 200-Meter Dash. Wray would take 48th, with a time of 23.65 and Pierce finished 76th, 25.51 to round out the day on the track.
In the field, the Cardinal throwers would have a strong showing, led by Tristen Tuttle in the Men's Shot Put. Tuttle, who competed in his first collegiate track & field event, would take 23rd, throwing a distance of 11.37 meters, to lead the way for the throwers.
The Wheeling University Men's Indoor Track & Field team returns to action on Friday, January 10th, when they head to the Capital Alumni Classic.
