Wheeling, W. Va. - With the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the rearview mirror, the Wheeling University Track & Field team turned their attention to their Last Chance schedule to round out the season. With three separate meets during the week, the track & field athletes swept the weekly Cardinal High Flyer of the Week Awards, taking home the final two honors of the 2024-2025 season. Women's Track & Field athlete Keala McCurry took home the Female High Flyer of the Week award, while Men's Track & Field athlete Magnus Polkner earned the Male High Flyer of the Week honor.
The Wheeling Track & Field team would compete in three different Last Chance Meets with the team looking to send qualifiers to the 2025 NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The week kicked off in the pole vault pit as the Cardinals took on the Hillsdale College Last Chance Meet. Top 10 finishes were the headline of the week and it began as the Cardinals just missed a top five finish, taking sixth in their lone event of the day. The Cardinals were back in action on Friday at the Baldwin Wallace Invitational, where the distance runners took to the course. The team would pick up their lone PR performance of the week, and ended the season strong for the Men's Track & Field team. The schedule wrapped up on Sunday at the St. John Fisher Last Chance Meet where, despite not registering a height, the Cardinals wrapped up the season strong in the pole vault.
For McCurry, it is her second Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award, but her first in Track & Field. She would compete at the Hillsdale College Last Chance Meet and had the highest individual finish of the week in the Pole Vault. She would take sixth place in the event, reaching a height of 3.42 meters on the day, finishing as the third highest vaulter among her Atlantic Region opponents. She cleared the first height of 3.27 meters on the second attempt, and would duplicate that performance as the bar was raised to 3.42 meters. She was one of eight athletes to clear the height, and moved on to the 3.57 meter mark. She was trying a longer pole in the event, and just wasn't able to clear the bar, bringing an end to her day. Despite no heighting at the St. John Fisher Invitational, McCurry had a strong end to her Cardinal career, bringing home the fourth MEC Individual Championship in the Pole Vault during outdoor season.
Polkner takes home his first Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award of the season after setting his fourth straight PR at an outdoor event. He would take on the Baldwin Wallace Last Chance Invitational, where he took on the 1500 Meter Run. Polkner has been splitting time between the 800 meter and the 1500 Meter during the outdoor season, but took on the 1500 for the first time since April 12th at the Duke Invitational. He would set a new PR by over two seconds, finishing 35th overall with a time of 4:00.11 in the race. It was the fourth straight meet where Polkner set a PR in the event, and he was the top finisher amongst his fellow MEC competitors. Polkner would grow on the track throughout the season and wrapped up the season with his best performance yet.
With the 2024-2025 season at its end, the next Wheeling University Athletic event is scheduled for Thursday, September 28th, when the Wheeling Football team takes on Clarion.
