WHEELING, W.Va. – Over the past two seasons, the Wheeling University men's swim team has been rebuilding its program with two athletes. During the offseason, head coach Corey Kephart began a recruiting effort, converting the two-man roster to a 10-man roster for the 2023-2024 season. With a more complete lineup and the best season since the show's return, Tea has reached new heights with the aim of continuing that success into the show's future.
They began the 2023-2024 season at the West Virginia State Tournament, finishing fifth out of six teams participating, their best finish since the program's inception. Similar to the women's team, they split two Mountain East Conference (MEC) opener games against Frostburg State University and West Virginia Wesleyan University, then swept wins over Washington & Jefferson College and Allegheny College to advance to the opening round. They won the tournament with 3 wins and 1 loss. 4 encounters. Looking to continue their strong run, the Cardinals head into the mid-season Malone Invitational with a record of 5 wins and 4 losses. They accomplished just that, finishing eighth out of 14 teams and scoring 823 points over the three-day event.
Winter break gave the male swimmers some much-needed time with their families, and upon returning home, they headed to Florida for a winter training trip. They spent 10 sunny days practicing twice a day, preparing for the second half of the season. The trip was to conclude with two games against Converse and Lenoir-Rhyne, and although the Cardinals forfeited both games, they looked to use that experience in their return to Wheelin. Although they ended up finishing with 1 win and 4 losses, the big win over Bethany gave them momentum toward the MEC/Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Championship. The Cardinals continued their historic run, finishing seventh out of nine teams, their highest finish since the program restarted, and becoming the first All-MEC honorees.
The first All-MEC individual honor in program history will go to a graduate student. Jiu Santos, led the way with two honors throughout the event. He won his first award on the first day of competition, earning All-MEC Honorable Mention in the 50-yard freestyle. He earned the honor by placing 11th overall and third among MEC competitors with a time of 21.41 seconds. His last All-His MEC award was earned when he swam the 100 yard freestyle on the final day of competition. This was his second sprint event at the championships, and he took home the honor by swimming a score of 46.97. Although he did not win the All-MEC title, he was a sophomore. Quintin Tayari He finished just behind Santos in both events, capping off his strong season.
The men's swim team's other two All-MEC honors come from the relay competition on the first and last day of competition. Leading the way was the men's 200-yard freestyle relay team from Tayari, Santos. Alberto Confinqueand patrick kirby. The foursome swam a time of 1:26.17, getting the event off to a strong start and earning All-MEC Second Team honors. Kirby, Tayari, Santos and the 400 yard freestyle team competed on the final day. Nathan Yost I put things together. They became the first of his two relay teams to earn All-MEC honors and ultimately earned honorable mention All-MEC honors.
The Wheeling University men's swim team is currently in its offseason and is looking to further increase its size and experience for the 2024-2025 season.
