West Liberty, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Wrestling team has a big day on the mat Saturday as they competed at the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Wrestling Championships. The Cardinals picked up their highest team finish in program history at the event, taking fourth in the field. They also picked up their first All-MEC wrestler in program history to round out the historic day.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Heavyweight Gavin Harper, who became the first All-MEC wrestler in school history, taking third in the 285lb weight class. Harper started his day against Fairmont State's Justin Bishop and did not allow a point on his way to a 16-0 Tech Fall to advance to the Semifinal Round. He would then wrestle against West Liberty's Parker Bentley in the semifinal round, and it was a tight match throughout, but Harper fell 9-2. As he moved to the consolation bracket, Harper would round out his day with a pair of tech fall wins, not allowing either of his final two opponents to score points. He would earn a 17-0 Tech Fall over Kourdell Todd from Salem and earned a 16-0 tech fall over Gavin Bage in the third place match to earn Honorable Mention All-MEC honors.
Behind Harper, the Cardinals had three different wrestlers finish in fourth place, beginning with their 125 pounder Brent Bosley. Bosley earned a 19-4 tech fall win over Wyatt Stemberger (D&E) in the first round and would fall in an 18-0 tech fall to move to the consolation bracket. He came back with a pinfall in the consolation semifinal and advanced to the third-place match. He would battle Frostburg State's Nate Wilhelm and he ended up falling 9-0 in a Major Decision. Up next was Brian Crevar in the 165lb weight class, and he also started strong with a 7-1 decision over Salem's Dylan Knight. He would then move to the consolation semifinals and earned a 10-2 Major Decision to advance to the third-place match. He would face West Liberty's Toby Abbott and fell 14-3 in a Major Decision to take fourth place overall.
Austin Hinzman was the final Cardinal to take fourth on the day, as he started things off with a pinfall at the 6:38 mark. He would be pinned in the semifinal round, and began a run in the consolation bracket with a 18-3 tech fall over Salem's Calyton Downs. He would come back in the third place match and battled Fairmont State's Austin Gibson. It was a back and forth battle throughout the match, with both wrestlers getting the advantage at one point or another, but in the end, it was Hinzman who pulled out the win with an 11-6 decision. The Cardinals would send their biggest lineup ever to the event, with nine wrestlers making the trip, and six of the nine wrestlers earned at least one win on the day.
Caden Canning took the mat at 149 and picked up his win in the Consolation round, as he battled Fairmont State's Shane Hatfield. Canning would battle to the third period and earned a pinfall at the 6:10 mark. He advanced to the fifth place match, and earned fifth via a forfeit to round out the day 2-2. After dropping his first two matches of the day, Isaac Valdez came into the fifth place match against Fairmont State's Jim Green looking for a win. He would get it done, earning a pinfall at 3:55 to finish fifth in the field. Hunter Bittinger and Chris Johnson were the final two placers for the Cardinals, with each taking sixth place. Angelo DiPol was the final Cardinal to compete, finishing 0-2 across his two matches.
The Wheeling University Wrestling team returns to action on Friday, February 7th, when they take on Davis & Elkins on senior night at 6 PM.
