Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Athletic Department wrapped up a big week of spring sports postseason action with Men's Lacrosse, Women's Lacrosse, and Softball all making their respective conference tournaments. On Wednesday, the Wheeling University Athletic Department announced their High Flyers of the Week and it was a pair of strong postseason performances that took home the honors. Wheeling University Softball player Kaylin Shields earned the Female High Flyer of the Week while Men's Lacrosse player Dylan Lavern took home the Male High Flyer of the Week.
The week kicked off with the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships with the Track & Field team competing across three days of competition. The Cardinals had one MEC Individual Champion and three athletes make the podium to lead the charge. The postseason kicked off on Wednesday with both Wheeling Men's Lacrosse and Softball in action. Softball was up first as they took on Glenville State and fell in a dominant pitcher's duel 1-0. Men's Lacrosse would take on Seton Hill and kept things close early before falling to the Griffins 29-4. Softball's run in the MEC Tournament would end on Thursday as they took an early lead before dropping a 2-1 game. Women's Lacrosse would fall in their MEC semifinals matchup with Frostburg State, falling 17-1, and baseball would wrap up the week going 1-2 against West Liberty.
For Shields, it was her first Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award of the season as she led the Cardinals in the circle throughout the MEC Tournament. She would take the ball in both games, throwing every inning for the Cardinals throughout the tournament. The freshman would finish with 12.0 innings allowing three runs, two earned, on nine hits while walking five and striking out eight. In game one, she was locked in a pitcher's duel with one of the top pitchers in the conference and kept the Pioneers off the board until the final inning of work. She battled throughout the day and it was more of the same on the second day. She would once again throw 6.0 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits while walking one and striking out four. Over her last three starts of the season, she allowed one earned run or less over 17.0 innings of work to round out a strong season.
Dylan Lavern is also earning his first Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award of the season after a strong showing at Seton Hill. Despite the final score, Lavern would account for half of his team's offense, finishing with two goals while taking a team-high six shots and putting five of those on net. With Seton Hill holding a 3-0 advantage, it was Lavern that would spark the Cardinal offense. At the 7:20 mark, Lavern would take a pass from Brenner Chase and got the Cardinals on the board with his first goal of the day to make it a 3-1 lead. He would add another goal at the 1:57 mark of the quarter and kept it a four-goal game heading into the second quarter. He would finish with a team-high six shots on the day and put five of those on net as he rounded out a lll performance.
The next Wheeling University Athletic event is scheduled for Friday, May 9th, when the Wheeling University Men's Track & Field team heads to the Baldwin Wallace Last Chance Invitational.
