Wheeling, W. Va. – All season, the Wheeling University Men's and Women's swimming teams have been training against some of the top teams in the region and in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). With just under two weeks left before the 2024 MEC/Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Championships in Canton, Ohio, the Cardinals will swim their final tune-up this weekend as they work to lower their seed times. They will host Penn State Behrend on Saturday inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center Natatorium at 1 PM as they swim for the final time in front of their home fans.
Senior Day for Wheeling Swim was a successful one and it was truly a celebration of everything these swimmers have accomplished. Both the men's and women's team had a successful day last Saturday with the men's team winning 173-18 against Bethany and falling 148-110 against Hiram and the women's team sweeping the day, winning 176-47 against Bethany and 172-79 against Hiram. Aside from the team success, the Cardinals also had their share of success individually, with the two teams combining for 22 wins across the 28 events on the day, with several swimmers picking up multiple wins on the day.
Nathan Yost and Patrick Kirby were the story of the day for the men's team as they were a big part of winning the 200-yard Medley Relay along with Jiwh Santos and Alberto Kofinke. The 200-Yard Butterfly would be the next event that Nathan Yost and Kirby Patrick would win as they came in first and second which was a huge start to a dominant day all around for the men's team. Rounding out the individual success was freshman Alex Ferbeee, who picked up his first collegiate victory in the 50-Yard Freestyle to round out a total of eight wins for the Men's team.
Sofia Castillo was honored as the senior for the women's team and she made the most of her day with the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay as she helped her team get a time of 2:01.12 which was a big part of the win. Gabby Baiano was another big reason why the women's team was so successful as she helped in the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay and won both 50-Yard Freestyle and the 200-Yard Backstroke. Leading the way for the Cardinals was the duo of Olivia Moyer and Marra Johnson, who each grabbed four wins on the day. Both were members of the winning 200-Yard Medley Relay and the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay to start and end the night while picking up two individual wins of their own. The women would pick up 14 wins across 16 events and look to climb the team standings at this year's championship.
This will be the first matchup against Penn State Behrend for the both teams which is something that is exciting, but they also have no previous experience, so they are going to have to be well-prepared for this meet. For the men's team Nathan Yost, Kirby Patrick, and Jiwh Santos will be a big part of the success of the team, so they will have to be ready. For the women's team Sofia Castillo, Gabby Baiano, and Olivia Moyer will be a big part of the success on Saturday.
Saturday's Dual meet against Penn State Behrend is set to begin at 1 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center Natatorium. You can watch the meet live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
