Wheeling, W. Va. - The conference championship season officially kicked off for the Wheeling Athletics Department, with the first of 23 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship events taking place this past week. On Wednesday, the Athletic Department announced their weekly High Flyer of the Week honors and it was one of these championship performances that was honored. Wheeling Men's Golfer Zak Collins earned the Male High Flyer of the Week award, while Wheeling Women's Soccer player Deetya Satyal would earn the Female High Flyer of the Week award.
The week started out with a championship effort as the Men's and Women's Golf teams competing at the 2025 MEC Men's Golf Championships. The men would equal their finish from a season ago, taking fourth overall while the women would finish sixth in the field, advancing to the third day as a team for the first time since the 2023 event. Wheeling Volleyball would take the court on Tuesday as they traveled to Frostburg State and bested the Bobcats 3-1. Wednesday would bring a double dose of soccer action, with both teams traveling down to Concord. The Women would drop a close 1-0 affair while the men would fall 3-1 to round out the night. The weekend would tip-off on the Volleyball court as the Wheeling Volleyball team returned home to battle Salem in non-conference action, picking up a 3-0 win.
It would be a full day of action for the Cardinals on Saturday, with Wheeling Cross Country competing at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational. The women had one runner finish in the top 60, while the men placed two in the top 100 to round out their regular season. The men's and women's swimming teams were up next as they started conference play with a tri-meet against Frostburg State and West Virginia Wesleyan. The men would earn their first MEC sweep since joining the conference, beating Frostburg State145-113 and West Virginia Wesleyan 211-23, while the women split the day with a win over West Virginia Wesleyan 175-23 and a 159-92 loss to Frostburg State. Football and Women's Rugby would each pick up wins on the day, while Volleyball fell to round out the Saturday action. Sunday would see the first home soccer doubleheader of the season, with the men falling to Charleston 4-0 and the women tying in a 1-1 effort.
Zak Collins earned his first Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award after leading the Cardinals at the 2025 MEC Men's Golf Championships. He started the tournament with his best round of the week, shooting a 71 to finish –1 heading into day two. He sat in a tie for third heading into the second round and had his team sitting a top the standings. He would come back with a 75 in the second round, moving him to a tie for fifth, and he entered the final day within striking distance of an individual title. He was able to knock three strokes off his score, shooting an even par, to round out the event. It was enough to earn him a spot on the conference's All-Tournament team, as he finished in a tie for fourth in the field, shooting 218 across the event for his best three-round performance of the season.
Deetya Satyal took home her first Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award of her career after a career-best week in net. She stepped in for the injured goalkeeping core for the Cardinals, and totaled 16 saves on 18 shots faced during the week. She would concede one goal in each game as she helped the Cardinals go 0-1-1 during the week. Her biggest effort would come in the game against Concord, where she totaled 11 saves on 12 shots faced, leading the Cardinal defense in what would be a 1-0 loss. She rounded out the week making five saves on six shots faced, as the Cardinals earned a crucial point in a 1-1 tie against Charleston. She finished with a .889 save percentage during the week and looks to continue leading the defensive effort.
Zak Collins is the first Men's Golfer to earn High Flyer of the Week honors, while Deetya Satyal is the second Women's Soccer player to earn the honors. Satyal joins teammate Akyla Walcott in being honored, with the Cardinal soccer team earning honors for the second time in three weeks. Last week, the Cardinals honored Wheeling Men's Swimmer Segmen Duygun and Volleyball player Mara McDougal.
The next Wheeling University Athletic event is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15th, when Wheeling Men's Soccer battles West Virginia Wesleyan with kick-off at 7 PM.
