Wheeling, W. Va. - When he took over the program during the 2022-2023 season, Wheeling University Head Wrestling Coach Shane Brown was tasked with rebuilding the Cardinal wrestling program to it's former glory. They took steps towards doing that last season, finishing in their highest placing as a team ever at the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships, and they look to raise the bar even further in 2025-2026. They enter the year with their largest roster since the program was brought back with 25 wrestlers, 22 of those being in either their freshman or sophomore seasons, and are looking to tap into their talent pool throughout the season.
"We do have a young class coming in, but we have a lot of talent," said Brown. "We are still in the rebuild stage, but I feel like with this class it's adding more to that core we have with our returners. A lot of good talent, a lot of talent depth wise and as far as it goes we just want our guys to be healthy so everyone can compete."
The 2024-2025 season was a big step towards the rebuilding of the program with a young talent base getting experience on the mat. After dropping their first dual meet to Frostburg State, the Cardinals went 4-1 through their remaining dual meet schedule, with wins over Washington & Jefferson, Muskingum, Waynesburg, and Davis & Elkins. In the tournament field, the Cardinals were led by their heavyweights, with the 285lb and 184lb weight classes routinely leading the way. Heading into the 2025 MEC Wrestling Championships, the Cardinals went from being picked as the #7 team in the 2024-2025 MEC preseason poll to finished a program best 4th in the field. They finished with their first-ever All-MEC wrestler at the event, and carried that momentum into the NCAA DII Super Region 1 Tournament. The Cardinals would receive a National Alternate at the event, capping off a historic year on the back.
The returning core in 2025-2026 will be led by heavyweight Gavin Harper, who won 31 matches for the Cardinals a season ago. He finished just two wins shy of the single-season win record, and led the Cardinals in nearly every category during the season. At the MEC Wrestling championships, he would finish 3-1 across his four matches and became the first-ever All-MEC Wrestler, earning Honorable Mention All-MEC honors. As he enters this season, the Redshirt Junior made even more history, becoming the Cardinal's first ranked wrestler since the 2019 season. He was ranked #13 in the nation at the 285Lb weight class, joining West Liberty's Parker Bentley (#12) and Frostburg State's Gavin Bage (#14) in being ranked from the MEC. He looks to continue his leadership on the mat and help continue to lead the Cardinal's growth.
In total, the Cardinals have three placers from last year's MEC Championship showing returning this season. Leading the lot is junior Brian Crevar, who finished last season going 7-11 across 18 matches during the season. He was one of two fourth place finishers for the Cardinals at last year's MEC Wrestling Championships, going 2-2 across four matches at the event. The other two returning placers are Chris Johnson (197lb) and Hunter Bittinger (174lb) who each took sixth place last season. Both were regulars in the Cardinal's starting lineup throughout the season, with Bittinger finishing the year 4-15 while Johnson added a 3-13 mark to round out the season.
Along with the returners, the Cardinals have a large talent base coming in, with a freshman class that includes 18 incoming wrestlers who look to make an immediate impact. It is the largest incoming class for the program since the 2019 season, and Brown sees a lot of potential in this year's group. Brown has noted that through the preseason, each of the incoming athletes are making pushes for a spot in the starting lineup. Along with the freshman, the Cardinals added a few veteran transfers, led by Kyle Snider in the 184LB weight class. Snider wrestled for Kent State during the 2024-2025 season, and finished 11-7 at the 184LB weight class. He looks to continue his success for the Cardinals as they continue to grow on the mat.
After battling through a tournament heavy schedule over the past few seasons, the Cardinals are getting back to a nice mix of duals and tournaments throughout the year in 2025-2026. After opening the season at the Mount Union Invitational, the Cardinals will kick-off a dual meet schedule that includes three dual meets, three tri-meets, and two quad meets throughout the year. They open the schedule with back-to-back home duals against Frostburg State on November 5th and Washington & Jefferson College on November 12th. After competing at the Findlay Open on November 15th, the first half dual meet schedule ends with a quad at Fairmont State, where the Cardinals will battle Point Park, Davis & Elkins, and the host Falcons. They will then head to the Midwest Classic on December 13th, wrapping up the first half of their schedule.
After battling a first half schedule that is tournament heavy, the Cardinals will focus heavily on dual meets in the second half, starting with an away dual at Fairmont State. Their first home event will come on January 10th, when they host their first tri-meet against Davis & Elkins and Waynesburg University. They will make one more trip to Mount Union, and compete at the Seton Hill Tri-Meet before heading to the 2026 MEC Wrestling Championships. The postseason run includes a tri-meet at Lake Erie, a quad meet at Salem, and tournaments at John Carroll and Millersville to close out February. The schedule comes to an end with the NCAA DII Super Regional 1 Tournament on Saturday, March 1st, where the Cardinals will be looking to send their first wrestler to nationals since 2019.
The Wheeling University Wrestling team opens the 2025-2026 season on Saturday, November 1st, when they take on the Mount Union Invitational at 9 AM.
