Liz Fleming was named the MEC Field Athlete of the Year for the second outdoor season in a row. 
Danielle Stewart won the pole vault with a MEC meet record vault of 3.80m.
The Wheeling University women captured their third straight MEC Track and Field Championship last week. The Cardinals scored 189 points to run away from runner-up W.Va. Wesleyan, which finished with 153.5 points. West Liberty finished third with 125.
Wesleyan is actually the last women’s team to win the title other than Wheeling, dating back to the 2017 season.
The Cardinals had six individual champions, one NCAA provision mark and one MEC championship meet record.
Each university in the MEC seemingly has its one or two programs that are traditionally strong year in and out, and for Wheeling, it’s volleyball and track and field on the women’s side. Fittingly, both claimed MEC team gold in 2021.
“It’s the legacy that’s been built here, going back to when former Coach Ricky Moore was a runner on the team,” said head coach Patrick Stanton. “There’s a strong history and foundation and I’m very fortunate to have inherited a program that’s already clicking.
He would know. A Fairmont native and WJU alum, Stanton himself was a standout on the cross country team for the Cardinals. He then assisted Moore on both the cross country and track teams and is now the head coach of both.
Tradition is one thing. Having incredible senior leadership is another and, in that, Wheeling is also blessed.
It starts with Liz Fleming, who was named the MEC Field Athlete of the Year for the second season in a row after winning her signature event in the hammer throw and coming in second in both the discus and shot put.
“If you’ve ever met Liz, you’ll remember her for the rest of your life. She brings that kind of energy to the program,” Stanton said. “You can count on her leadership. She’s the first to get everyone excited and is always cheering everyone on. And of course, she’s at minimum and automatic 28 points every meet.”
Fleming had her normal head-to-head battle with West Liberty throwing specialist Kelsi Hulit. Hulit took first in her specialty, the disc, while finishing fifth in the hammer. Hulit came in second in the shot, but it was another Cardinal, and not Fleming, who put the furthest throw.
Sitting in second place after three throws, freshman Princess Love ripped of a 12.88m throw to win the event.
Wheeling the dominated the pole vault event, taking the top four spots and 29 points in the event. Fittingly, it was graduate student Danielle Stewart winning with an MEC Meet record vault of 3.80 in her final conference championship meet.
Stewart earlier hit a provisional mark in the vault. She qualified for the 2020 winter indoor championships and was ready to compete before the pandemic forced the cancellation, costing Stewart her chance to compete on the national stage.
Fleming and Stewart both own provisions marks, Stewart in the pole vault and Fleming in both the hammer throw and shot put. Fleming’s 14.67m put in the shot is the 18th best mark in Division II, while her 55.73m toss in the hammer is 20th best. Stewart’s 3.85m vault is 32nd best.
The NCAA reduced the number of qualifiers for each event at the national championship meet this season because of the pandemic. The minimum taken for each event will be 13, the max 17.
Both Fleming and Stewart attempted to better their marks at Saturday’s Last Chance Meet at West Virginia University.
“Women’s pole vault in Division II has been getting more and more competitive,” Stanton said. “I always tell Danielle that every time she hits a new mark, it’s one that would have gone a few years ago. But it’ll take every bit of four meters to make it.”
Other winners for the Cardinals included: Isha Sesay in the 100 high hurdles, Caroline Fodor of Weir in the 800, Jaci Rife in the long jump, and former Cambridge standout JayLynn McClaren won the javelin competition in the women’s heptathlon. McClaren, just a freshman, finished third in the heptathlon standings.
’Toppers Repeat as Champions
Annie Patterson’s ninth-inning solo home run game West Liberty a 3-2 lead and pitcher Riley Bennington made it stick, striking out the third out against West Virginia State.
The Yellow Jackets produced a one-out double and then sacrificed the runner to third on a comebacker to Bennington. But the former Central product buckled down and preserved the victory and the Hilltoppers’ chances at repeating as MEC softball champions.
In the second game, West Liberty got done 1-0 early on a solo home run. But the Hilltoppers proceeded to reel off four unanswered runs.
Kat Donzella got it started with an RBI double to left-center. Donzella then advanced to third and stole home to give West Liberty the lead. In the seventh inning, Donzella scored again, this time on a sac fly from Makenzie Amend, who cam in to pitch midway through the game. Connor Assif followed Amend with a ground-ball single up the middle that scored Katie Beeman.
Donzella went 3-for-4 in the final game while Assif and Riley Conkle each going 2-for-3. Conkle scored on Donzella’s fifth-inning double. Wheeling Central product Allie Cook had two hits and two sacrifice bunts, twice moving Donzella from first two second.
West Liberty’s Beeman, Amend, Bennington and Donzella were named to the all-tournament team. Donzella was named the MVP for the tournament.
Yeaman Named First Team
WLU senior forward Josh Yeaman was named first-team, all-MEC in men’s soccer, the only West Lib or Wheeling player to earn such a distinction.
He was joined on second team by teammate Mikel Ubeda while the Hilltoppers’ Vitor Otsuka and Wheeling’s Richard Afolayanka were honorable mention.
On the women’s side, no Wheeling or West Liberty player rated first or second team. However, Wheeling’s Zayna Hampton, along with WLU’s Ali Rhinaman and Georgia Richardson earned honorable mention laurels.
Hampton was also named to the all-freshman team as a defender.
West Lib’s Blomquist Honored
West Liberty pitcher Tyler Blomquist’s no-hitter against Fairmont State resulting in a slew of awards for the senior out of St. Clairsville.
In addition to earning MEC Pitcher of the Week honors, Blomquist was named the Division II Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week by the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). It was the first no-hitter by a Hilltoppers’ hurler in on the road in more than three decades.
His 10 strikeouts that day were a career-high.
Weekly Conference Honors
The following athletes were honored last week by the MEC as the top performers in their respective sports:
| Players of the Week |
| Baseball: Zach Saryeldin, Concord/Luis Dominguez, Wheeling (Player); Tyler Blomquist, West Liberty (Pitcher) |
| Softball: Lauryn King, W.Va. Wesleyan (Player); Danielle Baure, UC (Pitcher) |
Note: The MEC Notebook highlights the top news and notes from around the Mountain East Conference.
