Wheeling, W. Va. – Throughout the Outdoor Track & Field season, the Wheeling University Outdoor Track & Field team has had some strong performances both on the track and in the field. On Friday, they bring their regular season to an end with a pair of meets in their final tune-up before the 2024 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships. Most of the team will head to the Otterbein Invitational for their two day event, while the top performers will make their way to the Jesse Owens Classic to compete against top DI talent.

Last time out, the team competed at the two-day Tiffin Track Carnival, hosted by Tiffin and Heidleberg Universities. Day 1 ended up being shortened due to technical difficulties with the finish line system and the Cardinals got to compete in just two events during the day. However, when they came back for day two, the Cardinals hit the ground running with several top five finishes both on the track and in the field. For both the men and the women, it was the jumpers and Pole Vaulters that shines taking home a combined four top five finishes while all but one competitor finished in the top 10 of their events. On the track, it was the sprinters that shines as the 110 and 100 meter hurdles continued their success and the distance runners had their best showings of the season in the 10,000 and the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase.

On the men's side, it was senior Elijah Young leading the way as he competed in both the Men's Long Jump and the Men's Pole Vault. His best finish of the day came in the Men's Long Jump, an event he had competed in just one other time during the season. Young would end up taking fifth in the event, jumping a season best 6.43 meters to lead the way. He was the top finisher out of the MEC competitors in attendance and gave the Cardinals a third quality jumper heading into the MEC Championship event. N His other event would be his top event so far this season, as he competed in the Men's Pole Vault. He picked up his second top 10 finish of the event, taking 7th with a height of 3.35 meters. It was .05 meters off of his PR as he gets one more shot to reach that height heading into the championship event.

On the women's side, the top finish of the day came from the 100-Meter Hurdles courtesy of Isha Sesay. Sesay would take third in the event, running a time of 14.49 seconds to finish as the top MEC finisher in the event. She was just .49 seconds behind the winner as she continues her strong showing in the Hurdles this season. The hurdlers continued their success in the 400-Meter Hurdles as Jenay Soumahro would pick up the group's second top five finish of the day. Soumahro would take fifth in the event, running a time of 1:08.21 as she picked up her first top five finish in the event of the season. The hurdles and sprint group have been the leaders for the Cardinals all season long, taking home two of the three MEC Indoor Champions earlier this season, the group looks to once again lead the Cardinals as they head down this championship stretch.

With just one week remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals have four of the top marks in the MEC in their respective events. On the men's side, Joshua Boehm holds the top mark in the 400-Meter Dash (48.73) while the 110-Meter Hurdle group of Moses Koroma and Damian Jackson sit second and third in the conference. On the women's side, the Cardinals have three holding top spots in Isha Sesay (100 H), Keala McCurry (PV), and Tara Perry (HJ). As they head into in their final week of competition this weekend, the Cardinals are looking to add more top finishers to the list. Most of the team is set to head to Otterbein, where they will have a chance to get some work in in their respective events. The Jesse Owens Classic, however, will see the top performers of the season, out their skills to the test against DI Competition
Event Details

Jesse Owens Classic: The Jesse Owens Classic will be hosted by Ohio State University on Friday, April 19th and Saturday April 20th. Both days will feature events both on the track and the field, with the first day kicking off at noon with the Women's Hammer Throw and the second day beginning at 10:30 AM with the Women's Shot Put. The track events begin at 4:30 PM on day one with the Women's 400-Meter Hurdles while day two starts at 1 PM with the Women's 100-Meter Hurdles.

Otterbein Invitational: The Otterbein Invitational is a one day event, competing Friday, April 19th, at Otterbein University. This is where a majority of the Cardinal competition will compete as they open the final week of play. The day's action begins at 1 PM in the field with the Men's Hammer Throw and at 4 P. On the track. The Cardinals look to put up a strong showing as they finish out their regular season events.

The Details

The Jesse Owens Classic will kick things off on Friday at Ohio State University with first events beginning at 12:30 PM. The Otterbein Invitational will follow at 1 PM with the track events. To follow along with the Jesse Owens Classic, click HERE, and to follow along with the Otterbein Invitational, click HERE.