Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Athletic Department is in full swing in February, with winter and spring sports competing side by side. On Wednesday, the department announced their weekly Cardinal High Flyer of the Week awards, and they went to a pair of athletes with standout performances on the field and in the pool. Wheeling Men's Swimmer Segmen Duygun earned the Male High Flyer of the Week award, while Women's Lacrosse player Sophia Cirone took home the Female High Flyer of the Week award to lead the effort.
The week would start out with championship action as the Wheeling Men's & Women's Swimming teams headed to the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC)/Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Swimming & Diving Championships. The Men would finish fourth overall, second among MEC opponents, while the women took sixth overall, third among MEC opponents to round out a big week. Back in West Virginia, the Men's and Women's Basketball teams traveled to Fairmont State for a Wednesday night battle. The women would drop a close match-up 68-60, while the men fell 77-60 to round out the day. As the week went on, Acorbatics & Tumbling opened their season at the Glenville State Tri-Meet, taking on the host Pioneers and Bluefield State. Wheeling would put up 190.560 points to split the day and get off to a strong start to 2026.
Thursday would wrap up with the Cardinal wrestlers hitting the mat for the Salem Tri-Meet against Salem and Seton Hill. Wheeling would battle through the pair of dual meets, but fell to Seton Hill 36-5, before falling to the host Tigers 28-20. After swimming wrapped up the week, Saturday brought a flurry of action with Track & Field starting things off at the SPIRE Collegiate Games. They would have a top 10 finish on the women's side, with PRs going all around. Wheeling Baseball would hit the road to Virginia State, and earned a sweep behind a pair of strong starting pitching performances to take down the Trojans 3-0 and 4-0. The weekend wrapped up with a home triple header, as Women's Lacrosse and both basketball teams were home. Wheeling Women's Lacrosse fell to Gannon 15-11, but a hardwood sweep would end the day with Women's Basketball winning 57-48 and Men's Basketball winning 88-84.
Segmen Duygun takes home his third Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award for the 2025-2026 season, after leading the Cardinals at the MEC/GMAC Championships. He ruled the distance events, taking home First Team All-MEC honors in the 1000 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle, and the 1650 Freestyle throughout the week. He was the Cardinal's leading scorer throughout the week, totaling 635.5 points, and was the 10th leading scorer at the event. Duygun would set personal bests throughout the week, starting with the 1000 Freestyle. He would take third overall in the event, first among MEC opponents, swimming a time of 9:42.44. It was his biggest PR of the week, breaking his old mark by 10.68 seconds. He added a 2nd place finish in the 50 Freestyle (4:39.27) and a third place finish in the 1650 Freestyle (16:24.51) to round out the week.
Sophia Cirone is taking home her first Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award of the season, after leading the Cardinal's comeback charge against Gannon. She finished the day with five goals and one assist, while tying for the team lead with six points in the contest. Cirone scored one goal in the first half, but rattled off the final four on the Cardinal's comeback effort. Her first during the run came with the Cardinals trailing 12-4 as she got the team back on the scoreboard. She would then score three more goals down the final 15 minute stretch, including the final goal of the night that brought things to their final score of 15-11. Along with being the team's leading scorer, Cirone was also the most efficient shooter for the Cardinals, putting each of her seven shots on net in the effort.
Segmen Duygun earns the fourth Cardinal High Flyer of the Week award for the Men's Swimming program, while Cirone takes home the first for Women's Lacrosse. Duygun has taken home the award three times this season for the Cardinals, and joins teammate Aris Dimakis in being honored this season. Cirone earns the first for Wheeling Women's Lacrosse, after they opened their season with a big comeback effort against Gannon. Last week, the Wheeling Athletic Department honored Wheeling Women's Basketball player Kenzie Dalton and Wheeling Baseball Player Edward Mateo for their efforts.
The next Wheeling University Athletic Event is scheduled for Wednesday, February 18th, when the Wheeling Women's Lacrosse team takes on Shippensburg at 3 PM.
