Wheeling, W. Va. - After spending the off-season building on both their depth and veteran leadership, the Wheeling University Men's Wrestling team opened the 2026-2027 season at the Mount Union Invitational. It was a strong start to the season, with four Cardinals placing at the event, including one weight class champion, as the Cardinals finished eighth out of the 17 teams in the field scoring 69.5 points. The Cardinals would get their first weight class champion of the season in what was a strong start to the season.
Leading the effort was redshirt senior Gavin Harper, who took the individual crown in the 285-pound weight class. He would start his day strong, needing just 3:22 to defeat John Carroll's Cole Ditzig in a 19-3 tech fall. As he moved on to the quarterfinals and semifinals, his matches only got harder, as be battled Mount Union's Aidan Mozden and WVU Potomac State's Gurner Hill. He would pick up a pair of decisions, beating Mozden 8-3 in the semifinals and Hiller 2-0 in the semifinals. It brought him to the 285-pound championship match, where he would match-up with Muskingum's Scotty Edwards. It was his fastest win of the day, picking up a tech fall in 1:50, earning the 15-0 win and finishing out a perfect 4-0 day on the mat.
Finishing behind Harper were a pair of fifth place finishers in Jake Taylor at 174-pounds and Liam Lusher at 157-pounds. Lusher would be making his Cardinal debut, and went 3-0 to start the day, with a pair of pinfalls, the fastest coming in 1:51, and a 2-0 decision over Seton Hill's Jonah Erdely. He would end up falling in the semifinals to Ohio Northern's Londen Murphy 6-1. He would drop the consolation semifinals in a 4-1 decision before advancing to the fifth place match. Lusher would beat Ohio Northern's Ethan Bartlett in a 22-6 tech fall, needing 6:31 to complete the match, and earning fifth in the weight class. Taylor's path to fifth place would come on a bounce back, after he dropped his opening match. He would add five straight wins in the consolation bracket, before falling to Mount Union's Aiden Strecker in the consolation semifinal. He would face Ohio Northern's Jack Hoffman and one the match in a no contest to claim fifth place.
The final Cardinal placer was Jaxon Burcher, who finished 3-3 across six matches to earn sixth in the 197-pound weight class. Burcher would drop his opening match to Gannon's Adam Ortega, but bounced back in the consolation bracket with a pinfall in 5:34 against St. Vincent's Chase Stuchal. He would add a tech fall and a major decision as he continued through the consolation bracket, before falling to Case Western's Alexander Goldman in the consolation semifinal. He would end up forfeiting the fifth-place match to round out the day. While he did not place on the day, Chase Milton made his collegiate debut, and finished 3-2 across five matches on the night. He would earn his first collegiate win in a 4-1 decision against Ohio Northern's Zisi Giatis, and added a decision and sudden victory to round out the day.
Chris Johnson, Connor Hall, and Hunter Bittinger added the final three wins for the Cardinals, with each wrestler going 1-2 across their three matches. Jace Mahoney would round out the day in the 149-pound weight class, going 0-2 on the day. It was a strong start for the Cardinal wrestlers, and they look to keep building on their success.
The Wheeling University Men's Wrestling team returns to action on Wednesday, November 11, when they host Lake Erie and Seton Hill in tri-meet action at 5 PM
