Indoor Track Hopes to Continue 2025’s Campbell Invitational Success…

Wheeling, W. Va. – As they opened the 2025 season, the Wheeling University Indoor Track & Field team hit the ground running with a strong showing at the Capital Alumni Invitational. They look to keep their success going as they bump up to NCAA DI level competition on Friday when they compete at the Al Campbell Invitational. The Cardinals eased into the 2025 schedule, with a small group heading to Capital University, and are bringing on the whole team for the first time in the new year this week. 

At the Capital Alumni Invitational, the Cardinals had several strong showings throughout the day, finishing with nine individuals finishing in the top five of their events, with four of those athletes taking home gold medal honors. It was the track athletes that would lead the way on the day, taking home three of the four gold medals on the day. The Cardinals were led by their sprinters, who have really took the reigns on the track over the last couple of seasons. In the field, the Cardinal’s lone gold medal would come in the pole vault, where a pair of Cardinals would take 1 and 2 respectfully in the field. Head Coach Patrick Stanton was happy with the work his team put in during the break, and that hard work translated into competition. 

On the men’s side, the lone gold medal performance of the day came courtesy of Joshua Boehm. Boehm earned the gold medal in the men’s 400-Meter Dash, using a second half kick to take the top spot with a time of 49.97. He was rewarded for his efforts, taking home the Mountain East Conference’s (MEC) Men’s Track & Field Athlete of the Week, as he ran the second fastest time in the conference in the event this season. The other big performance for the Cardinals came in the field courtesy of jumper Kabwe Bwalya. Bwalya competed in each of the three jumping events for the Cardinals on the day, and took top five finishes in each event. His strongest event of the day was the Triple Jump, where he took second with a distance of 12.94 meters, followed by second place finishes in both the Men’s Long Jump (5.75) and a third place finish in the High Jump (1.70). 

On the women’s side, Deja Ryals would be the team leader, earning a pair of medals including a first place finish. That first place finish would come in the 200-Meter Dash, where she ran a time of 27.38 to grab the top spot. She would take second in the 60-Meter Dash, where she knocked .18 seconds off her time from the preliminaries to take second with a time of 8.19. Like Boehm, Ryals would also earn the MEC’s weekly award, being named Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Week. In the field, Jenna Smith took home the lone gold medal of the event, winning the pole vault with a height of 3.20 meters. It came down to a battle between Smith and teammate Keala McCurry, with the pair both clearing the 3.20 meter mark. However, Smith cleared the height in her first attempt, giving her the win as the Cardinals took first and second place in the event. 

As they continue their stretch towards the 2025 MEC Indoor Track & Field Championships, the Wheeling University Indoor Track & Field team will see their share of talent. Of their five remaining regular season events, three of those will be at the NCAA DI level, starting with Friday’s Al Campbell Invitational. Stanton and his team relish the opportunity to face upper level competition, and he says that is one of the beautiful things about track & field. “That’s the great part about track,” said Stanton. “More than any other sport that I am aware of division doesn’t matter. We see DI, we see DII, we see DIII, we see NAIA, we see pros some times, and if you look at some of the results from these meets a lot of the time we have guys who can keep up with the DI guys.” The Cardinals look to continue challenging the upper level competition to get themselves ready for the MEC Championships. 

Event Details 

The University of Akron Al Campbell Invitational is set for January 17th, 2025, and will be held in the Stile Athletics Field House at Akron University. The event will feature teams from across all three divisions of the NCAA, with first events kicking off at 4 PM. The Cardinals will be one of 10 teams in competition and are looking to continue their growth from the start of the 2025 portion of the schedule.