Wheeling, W. Va. - It was a busy week in Wheeling Athletics last week, with 15 total events and 10 of those being at either Bishop Schmitt Field or the Alma Grace McDonough Center. On Wednesday, the Wheeling University Athletic Department released their weekly High Flyer of the Week awards, and it was a pair of stand out performances that took home this week's honors. Wheeling Football player Leonard Sherrod III earned Male High Flyer of the Week honors, while Volleyball player Camryn Matus took home Female High Flyer honors.
The week began on the golf course with, the Men's Golf team heading to the Stonewall Invitational and the Women's Golf team competing at the Pipesteam Classic. The Men would pick up another top 10 finish, while the women had strong individual performances on the course. Wednesday saw both soccer teams hit the road with both coming back with a crucial three points. Men's Soccer would take down Salem 2-0, and Women's Soccer earned a 1-0 last-second win in "The Battle for Wheeling" in the nightcap. Thursday would tip-off the annual Wheeling Invitational, with Wheeling Volleyball playing four matches in three days. They started things off with a rematch against Gannon, and came away 3-1 victors on the court. They continued that success into day two against Shippensburg, earning their first 3-0 sweep of the season to carry momentum into the weekend.
Saturday would see the team open with CAL-U in the morning, grinding out a 3-1 victory, while falling in a battle against Clarion in the nightcap in five sets. While Volleyball shined inside, it was doubleheader Rugby action outside with both teams taking the pitch at Bishop Schmitt Field. The Women would host Mount St. Mary's, earning a 62-0 victory over the Mountaineers, while the Men fell in Atlantic Rugby Conference (ARC) action to Walsh 26-24 for their first loss of the season. The weekend would wrap up with more soccer action, as Wheeling Men's Soccer traveled to West Virginia Wesleyan while the Women stayed home to face Fairmont State on Sunday. The men grinded out for 90 minutes in Buckhannon, West Virginia, but fell to the Bobcats 1-0 in the final minute, while the women earned a tie against Frostburg State at home 1-1 to earn a crucial point in the MEC North standings.
For Leonard Sherrod III, it is the second time this season that he has earned High Flyer of the Week honors after a big game against Fairmont State. The junior would finish tied for second on the team with eight tackles, five solo and three assisted, and played a hand in all three Cardinal turnovers on the day. He finished with two interceptions and added a fumble recovery, while also picking up two pass break-ups, to round out the day. His final interception of the day would be the one that iced the game, with Sherrod intercepting a pass at the Cardinal 11-yard line with just 1:54 left in regulation. Sherrod has racked in the honors this week, being named both the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Defensive Player of the Week as well as the D2Football.com Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Camryn Matus is earning her first High Flyer of the Week honor after leading the Cardinals through a challenging Wheeling Invitational. She would finish the weekend totaling 62 kills on 126 total attacks, while holding a .373 hitting percentage on the week. She would set new career-highs in kills in each of the four matches, with her biggest performance coming in the five-set finale with Clarion. She knocked down 18 kills in the match, on 44 total attacks, with eight of those 18 kills coming in the opening set. Her most efficient match came in the second match of the day as She knocked down 15 kills on 23 total attacks without committing an error on the day to finish with a .652 hitting percentage for the match. For her efforts, she was named the MEC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week.
Leonard Sherrod III is the second Wheeling Football player to take home the award this season, and the third time the team has been honored, while Camryn Matus earns the first award for the Wheeling Volleyball program. Sherrod has won the award twice this season and joins teammate Steven Mitchell in having earned High Flyer honors. Last week, the department honored Wheeling Football player Steven Mitchell and Women's Cross Country runner Madison Conrad.
The next Wheeling University Athletic event is scheduled for Wednesday, September 24th, when Wheeling Women's Soccer battles Salem with kick-off at 12:30 PM.
