Canton, OH. – After three long days of competition, the Wheeling University Women's Swimming team took the pool one final time on Saturday. It was day for of the MEC/GMAC Swimming & Diving Championships, and the Cardinals would finish fourth overall and runners-up in the MEC. It was their highest conference finish since joining the MEC, and they highlighted the day with their third individual MEC Champion.
That champion was senior Jade Miller, who was defending her title in the 200-Yard Backstroke. Miller would qualify for the A Final during the morning swim and swam against Frostburg State's Lydia Nebiolo for the title. Miller would place fifth overall, two spots ahead of Nebiola, and claimed the MEC Title with a time of 2:08.67. It was the third time in her career that Miller had won the MEC Title in the 200-Yard Backstroke, and it was the culmination of what has been a strong four-year career for the junior with the Cardinals. The other top 10 finisher on the day was Gabby Baiano, who took on the 1650 Freestyle. She would earn the final All-MEC honors of the day, finishing seventh overall and third among MEC competition, with a time of 18:01.51. It was her fourth All-MEC honors to round out a strong four days of competition.
Following Baiano in the event was Lacie Langmyer, who would take 13th overall with a time of 18:52.70 as the Cardinals rounded out the long distance swims. Wheeling had five other swimmers compete in finals events, with Lydie Sprecher following up in the B Final of the 100-Yard Freestyle. She swam a time of 54.26 to take 16th in the field, rounding out her individual events. Following Miller were a pair of swimmers in the C Final of the 200-Yard Backstroke, with Sofia Garcia taking 18th (2:13.21) and Olivia Moyer taking 24th (2:21.73). The last Cardinal to take on a finals event was Sofia Gonzalez Bernal in the 200-Yard Breaststroke. She would compete in the C Final and finished 21st with a time of 2:41.46.
The final event was the Women's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay with Baiano, Langmyer, Sprecher, and Grace Moorley swimming. The foursome earned Second Team All-MEC honors, taking fourth overall at 3:39.39.
The Wheeling University Women's Swimming team now heads into the off-season looking to continue their growth as a program.
