Wheeling, W. Va. – As the air begins to chill, the race for the postseason is heating up for the Wheeling University Athletic Department fall sports teams. On Wednesday, the Wheeling University Athletic Department announced their weekly High Flyer of the Week honors, and a pair of fall athletes stood among the rest down the stretch. Wheeling Football player Frederick Woodfork earned Male High Flyer of the Week honors, while Women's Golfer Sawyer Hobbs earned Female High Flyer of the Week honors.
The week of action began with the second Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship event as the Women's Golf Championships played their final two rounds. The Cardinals would finish third out of 10 teams in the field, their highest finish since the 2022 season, shooting a 1041 across three rounds. Wheeling Volleyball would start the home schedule when they hosted IUP on Tuesday in a five-set thriller that saw the Crimson Hawks pick up a 3-2 win. The action would continue on the home front on Wednesday, with Wheeling Men's and Women's Soccer took on Davis & Elkins. The women's team would earn just their second conference point of the year in a 0-0 tie, while the men fell to the Senators 3-1. As the weekend approached, it was time for celebration with the annual Wheeling University Homecoming & Family Weekend.
The festivities would begin with a home doubleheader with Wheeling Men's Rugby kicking things off. The Cardinals hosted St. Bonaventure on senior day in an ARC match, falling to the Bonnies 29-7. Back inside, Wheeling Volleyball would host Concord and would bounce back with a 3-0 sweep on their Dig Pink game. Friday wrapped up on the road, with Women's Cross Country competing at the Wilmington Invitational, and having three runners hit PRs in the 5K race. The weekend wrapped up on the road for Wheeling Women's Soccer with a trip to Fairmont State. The Cardinals would get on the board early, but ended up falling just short in a 5-1 loss to Fairmont State. It wrapped up a big weekend for the Cardinals and with two weeks left in October the playoff push is heating up.
Sawyer Hobbs earns her second Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award after leading the Wheeling Women's Golf team at the MEC Women's Golf Championships. She would earn a spot on the conference's All-Tournament team after finishing fifth across the three round event at the Stonewall Resort. She would shoot a 245 (+29) across the three rounds of competition, with her best showing coming in round two. After shooting an 84 through the first 18 holes of competition, Hobbs settled in for round two by dropping four strokes from her score. The success would come from a five stroke drop on her back nine score, which started with the first of three birdies for her on hole one. Her other two birdies would come in the third round, coming on holes 11 and 13, as she finished the tournament shooting an 81 to secure her top five finish in the tournament.
Frederick Woodfork is also taking home his first High Flyer of the Week of the season after putting together a season best effort against West Virginia State. The junior would lead the defensive effort, finishing with eight total tackles, three solo and five assisted, while adding 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack on the day. He was part of a Cardinal defensive line that was able to hold one of the best rushing attacks in the MEC to just 147 yards on the day, while finishing with a combined 3.0 sacks on the day. Woodfork's sack came as part of back-to-back Cardinal sacks in the second half that brought West Virginia State's momentum to a standstill. It was the first time in his career that Woodfork finished with more than four tackles in a game as he was part of a complete team defense throughout the day.
Woodfork is taking home the fourth Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award for the Wheeling Football team, while Hobbs is earning the second Cardinal High Flyer award for the Women's Golf team. Hobbs has taken home both High Flyer awards for Women's Golf this season, while Woodfork joins teammates Landon Lutz, Jalen Higginbotham, and Ayden McKinstry in being honored. Last week, Wheeling Athletics recognized Men's Soccer player Luis Yanes and Volleyball player Camryn Matus for their efforts.
The next Wheeling University Athletic event is scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, when the Wheeling Men's Soccer team takes on Frostburg State at 5 PM.
