Wheeling, W. Va. – In the first week of November, the Wheeling University Athletic Department had it all from new seasons blooming to postseason runs beginning. On Wednesday, the Wheeling University Athletic Department announced their weekly Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award winners and three Cardinals took home the honored after big efforts on the field. Wheeling Men's Wrestler Gavin Harper and Wheeling Football player Ayden McKinstry split the Male High Flyer of the Week, while Volleyball player Ava Green earned the Female High Flyer of the Week award.
The first full week of November would begin on the volleyball court, with the Cardinals playing their home finale against Davis & Elkins. The Cardinals would put together a total team effort, sweeping the Senators 3-0 to start the week. It was back to the volleyball court on Thursday for the regular season finale, and Wheeling would once again come out on top, winning a five-set thriller on the floor. Saturday would be the big day for the Cardinals, with five events happening throughout the day. It started with the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Cross Country Championships, where the Cardinals finished 11th on both the men's and women's side. Wheeling Men's Wrestling was up next with their 2026-2027 season opener, as the team traveled to Mount Union University.
The Cardinals would have success both as a team and individually, taking eighth overall and having four different Cardinals place, including a first place finish for Harper. On the football field, the Cardinals were back home, but fell to Glenville State 38-34, ending their postseason hopes. Wheeling Swimming would keep things going in tri-meet action, scoring 74 points and finishing second on both the Men's and Women's side in a match-up with IUP and Pitt Johnstown. Men's Rugby would bring the night to a close at the ARC fifth-place match, but they would end up falling to Belmont Abbey 29-23, ending the week for the Cardinals.
Gavin Harper is earning his first Male High Flyer of the Week award of the season, after leading the Cardinals at the Mount Union Invitational. Harper would go a perfect 4-0 on the day, and started the night off strong with a Tech Fall in just 3:22 to open the night. He would come back with back-to-back decisions and made his way into he 285-pound championship match. There, he would face Muskingum's Scotty Edwards, and earned a 15-0 tech fall in 1:50 to claim the title. IT was Harper's second career individual tournament win, and got his 2026-27 season started off strong. He sits at 4-0 and was the only Cardinal to have multiple tech falls on the day as he continues to lead the team into the 2026-27 season.
Ayden McKinstry is earning his second Male High Flyer of the Week award this season, after leading the Cardinal offense against Glenville State. Mckinstry would set the single-game rushing record, carrying the ball 17 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging 11.8 yards/carry in the effort. He coupled that with a strong day in the receiving game, being the Cardinal's top receiver with six catches for 80 yards on the day. His 11.8 yards/carry was tops in the conference during the week, with his longest run being a 79-yard sprint to the endzone that would tie the game at 28-28. With the effort, McKinstry propelled himself to the top of the Cardinal rushing leaderboards, netting 663 yards on the season, while leading the Cardinals with 6.1 yards per carry.
Ava Green rounds out the award winners, taking home her first career Cardinal High Flyer of the Week honor. She had a big week to wrap up the regular season, knocking down 18 kills while adding four total blocks on the Cardinal front line. It was a continuation of the strong finish to the season that Green has been having, where she has finished with double digit kills in five of her last seven matches, including Wednesday's MEC Quarterfinal match. Green would average 2.57 kills/set during the week, with her top performance coming against West Liberty in the five-set thriller. There, she would finish with 14 kills, just three shy of her career-high, while leading the Cardinals with 46 total attacks on the day. On the defensive side, she would add four digs in the match, setting her career-high, and rounding out a strong effort.
With the announcement of the week 11 Cardinal High Flyer of the Week awards, Wheeling Men's Wrestling has their first honor, while football and volleyball each take their fourth honors of the season. Gavin Harper sets the tone for Wheeling, McKinstry joins teammates Landon Lutz, Frederick Woodfork, and Jalen Higginbotham in being honored, and Green joins teammates Camryn Matus and Mara McDougal in earning the honors. Last week, the department would honor Men's Golfer Cormac Pearson and Women's Wrestler Anastasia Curitti.
The next Wheeling University home athletic event is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11, when Swimming hosts Salem at 6 PM
