Wheeling, W. Va. - The 2026-2027 season will be a historic year for Women's Wrestling in the Mountain East Conference (MEC), with the sport becoming the 24th Conference Championship sport this season. With last week's announcement, the conference released their inaugural MEC Women's Wrestling Preseason Poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches, with West Liberty being the inaugural preseason favorite. In their first season of competition, the Wheeling Women's Wrestling team was voted #4 in the preseason poll, with a roster of transfer leadership looking to lead the Cardinals on the mat.
On January 15th 2026, Women's Wrestling was announced as Wheeling University's 23rd Intercollegiate Varsity sport, continuing the university's goal of creating pathways for women in collegiate sports. Two months later, the leader of the new program was found with the announcement of Lily Sherer as the first Head Coach in program history. The former All-American at Lock Haven University came to Wheeling after spending a season as an assistant coach at Pitt Johnstown, and went to work on the recruiting trail. In her first season, Sherer was able to bring in nine wrestlers, all transfers, that look to make their mark on the inaugural season of the program. The transfers come from programs across NCAA DII and DIII wrestling and they will embark on an 11-event schedule that culminates with the inaugural MEC Women's Wrestling Championships on January 30th.
Leading the inaugural group of Cardinals on the mat is sophomore Lexi Beadle, who transferred to Wheeling after beginning her collegiate career at Baldwin Wallace. With the Yellow Jackets, Beadle would qualify for the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) National Championship at 133-pounds, while leading the team with 31 wins and 17 pins. She will be joined by fellow sophomore's Savannah Isaac and Anastasia Curitti, who come to the Cardinals from Life University and Waynesburg University respectively. Isaac is coming off an NAIA National Title as a Freshman in the 207-pound weight class, and is a four-time state champion in high school. In her freshman year at Waynesburg, Curitti would finish 15-15, including a 6-5 record in dual meet matches, with nine of those 15 wins coming via pinfall.
Their inaugural season will kick-off on November 1 at the Tiffin Open, and will see the team play through a schedule that includes six tournaments and five dual meets throughout the season. Of their five dual meet events, the Cardinals will be on their home mat three times, including their inaugural MEC dual meet against Fairmont State on November 18. Just like the men's wrestling team, the women will get a chance to compete against all three levels of the NCAA in their tournament events, getting them ready for what they will face in the MEC. Teh MEC Women's Wrestling Championships will be the first of it's kind in the MEC, competing on January 30, 2026, in the Waco Center on the campus of Glenville State. Sherer's goal for her team is to represent the program well and get as many girl's to qualify for regional and national championships as possible.
Leading the inaugural MEC Women's Wrestling Preseason Poll is West Liberty, who received four first-place votes and 24 total points. Frostburg State would finish right behind them, receiving one first place vote and 21 total points, while Fairmont State received one first-place vote and 16 total points. The rest of the MEC Women's Wrestling Preseason Poll is listed below:
1. West Liberty (4) - 24
2. Frostburg State (1) - 21
3. Fairmont State (1) - 16
4. Wheeling - 11
5. Concord - 10
6. Point Park - 8
The Wheeling University Women's Wrestling team begins their inaugural season on Sunday, November 1, when they compete at the Tiffin Open beginning at 9 AM.
