Wheeling, W. Va. – Since its reinstatement during the 2020-2021 season, the Wheeling University Wrestling program has continued to build from the ground up. The 2024-2025 season continues that tradition with the largest roster since the program was restarted and the old Wrestling room being reinstated inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. On Friday, the team announced their 2024-2025 schedule, including three home events inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
The 2023-2024 season represented another step forward for the program under Head Coach Shane Brown. Brown had a roster over 20 for the first time since the program's reinstatement and had his team competing against all levels of competition. Heading into the 2024 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships, the team had four competitors, the most they have sent to a championship event since the program rejoined the MEC. They had three different wrestlers place in the top five in their respective weight classes, with Jake Powell earning the highest spot in the 285-pound weight class. The Cardinals also has Caden Canning (141), and Brian Crevar (167) take 5th place in their respective weight classes to round out the event. They finished the year out with a stretch of tournament runs as they built off their championship season success.
The 2024-2025 season will once again start in tournament play as the team heads to the Mount Union Invitational to kick things off November 2nd. However, with a bigger roster comes more dual meets and the Cardinals will hit the road to start their MEC schedule November 6th against Frostburg State. It will be the first of six dual meets for the team, with three of those coming in conference play. November continues with the Ohio Collegiate Open on November 10th and an away dual meets with Washington & Jefferson on November 13th. The month closes with another tournament at the Findlay Open on November 16th before the team competes in their home opener in the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
It will be a home dual meet to kick-off December when the team plays host to WVU Tech on Friday, December 6th. It will also serve as the team's final tune-up before they hit the road for the Midwest Classic on December 14th to close out the first half of the season. After the Christmas break, the Cardinals return home for their first home tri meet since the 2019 season. They will play host to Muskingum and Waynesburg University on January 10th inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. They follow that up with the Purple Raider Open on January 19th, before heading to the MEC Championships February 1st. The Cardinals will look to build on last season's success and add more placers to the podium.
As the stretch run to the Regional Championships begins, the team will kick things off with their final home event of the season, an MEC Tri-Meet. They will host Davis & Elkins and Fairmont State in the matchup in what will be their final meet of the season on February 7th. They round out the year with the John Carroll Open on February 16th before heading to the NCAA Super Regional 1 Tournament on March 1st. They will look for their first regional champion since the 2019 campaign as they continue to grow the program.
The Wheeling University Wrestling team will kick-off their season on Saturday, November 2nd, when they head to the Mount Union Invitational at 9 AM.
