Youngstown, Oh. - Wheeling Men's Indoor Track traveled to Youngstown, Ohio for the Youngstown State Icebreaker Meet on Friday afternoon inside the Watson & Tressel Training Site at Youngstown State University. The Cardinals sent 12 members to represent Wheeling, with one Cardinal making podium in the top three, and two earning top 10 spots. The Cardinals young talent shined through, with both top 10 finishers coming out of their freshman class.
 
Leading the effort was the collegiate debut of Alexander Rodriguez, who competed in events on both the track and field sides of the event. His biggest performance would come in the Men's Unseeded Pole Vault, where he brought home a team-best third place finish. He would clear 4.30 meters in his first event of the season, being one of just four competitors to reach the height on the day. He would be one of four MEC competitors on the day and, after passing on the entry heights, he would step into the field at 4.30 meters. he would fail the first attempt, but easily cleared the bar on attempt on his second try. As the bar moved up to 4.45 meters, Rodriguez took his three attempts but was unable to clear the bar, rounding out his day. Earlier in the day, the freshman would run in the 60-Meter Hurdle preliminaries, and would finish 75^th with a time of 7.51 seconds. He would be the top finisher for the Cardinals, rounding out his collegiate debut.
 
The other top 10 finisher for the Cardinals also came in the field events, with Jacob Legg taking on the High Jump. He would end up finishing 10^th overall, 3^rd among MEC competition, reaching a height of 1.69 meters. It was the first height that the freshman attempted on the day, and it all came down to his final jump to secure his spot in the top 10. He was able to contort his body over the bar on the third try and advanced to the 1.74 meter height. This is where his run would end, as he finished just .10 meters shy of West Liberty's Seth Wisman for the conference lead. On the track, the top finish of the day would come from Magnus Polkner, who built off his success from. Cross Country season. Polkner would run in the Men's Mile, and finishing 12^th with a time of 4:23.18. He was just five seconds off pace for the top time of the event, and finished seventh among his MEC competitors.
 
The Cardinals gave great efforts in their season opener, with six other freshmen making their collegiate debuts. Felix Manyani, and Taven Mayo made their debuts in the Men's 60 meter with run times of 7.64 and 7.65, while Kris Vigars made his debut in the Men's 200 meter and 400 meter with times of 24.42 and 53.38. Redick Moore made his debut in the Men's 800 meter with a run time of 2:19.34, and Aiden McKenna made his debut in the Men's 1 Mile with a run time of 5:16.63. Four veterans opened their season in Youngstown, with two of them starting off in the Men's 200 meter. Erick Berroa and Marcelin Tote started their sophomore season with run times of 23.16 and 26.32. Berroa would then go to compete in the Men's 400 meter with a run time of 51.35. Hunter Tomich opened his season with the Men's 1 Mile with a time of 4:48.74 .
 
The Cardinals will be back on the track on Saturday, January 17th, where they will travel to Concord, Ohio to participate in the Muskie Meet #1 with start time at 11 AM.