Wheeling stumbles at Salem tri-meet as regionals push begins
Wheeling’s road to the NCAA Division II postseason opened with a rough night in Salem, West Virginia, on Thursday (ET), as the Cardinals dropped duals to Seton Hill and host Salem in a trimmed-down tri-meet after a late withdrawal reduced the original quad format.
Scoreboard: two setbacks in Salem
In the opener, Wheeling fell 36-15 to Seton Hill before dropping the nightcap 28-20 to the Tigers. The adjusted slate still offered a high-intensity tune-up for March’s Super Regional I, but the Cardinals left with lessons more than wins as early lineup gaps and momentum swings proved costly.
Early forfeits and a lightning pin put Wheeling in a hole
The first dual turned quickly. Forfeits at 133 and 141 pounds left the Cardinals chasing from the start, and a rapid 27-second pin at 149 compounded the deficit. By the time the middleweights took the mat, Wheeling trailed 21-0 and needed a spark. The bench’s thinness—still an issue following the conference championship stretch—forced some dicey matchups and limited maneuverability against a Seton Hill lineup that capitalized on every opening.
Spencer stops the slide; Burcher and Harper close with power
The breakthrough came at 157 pounds, where Bradley Spencer put together a composed, three-period effort. Tied heading to the final frame, Spencer finished a late takedown to secure a decision and halt the shutout threat. While Seton Hill stretched the lead again through 165, 174 and 184, Wheeling’s upperweights reasserted the Cardinals’ identity late. Freshman 197-pounder Jaxon Burcher seized control early and converted pressure into a second-period pin at 3:55, then heavyweight Gavin Harper followed with a pin at 3:29 to cap the dual. The two fall victories underscored a familiar script: Wheeling’s top end can swing meets in a hurry when the table is set.
Host Tigers edge Cardinals in nightcap
The finale against Salem offered a tighter contest, but the Tigers defended home mats 28-20. Wheeling again wrestled uphill out of the gate and couldn’t engineer a late flip despite another gritty upperweight push. The Cardinals produced opportunistic offense in several bouts and turned defense into scoring chances in scrambles, but bonus-point opportunities proved scarce, and the middle of the card tilted toward the hosts. In a format where a single bonus swing can decide a meet, Salem found just enough separation to keep Wheeling at arm’s length.
From quad to tri: schedule twists on the road to March
The event was initially set as a quad, only to be reduced to a tri-meet after a late change to the field. For Wheeling, the reshuffle meant fewer data points but no drop in intensity, especially coming on the heels of the Mountain East Conference Championships the previous Saturday (ET). The Cardinals leaned on a youthful roster there—covering all 10 weight classes with a majority of freshmen—and still pushed deep into brackets. That momentum carried into Salem in flashes, though the short turnaround and ongoing lineup shuffles showed.
Takeaways and what’s next for the Cardinals
Wheeling exits Salem with several clear checkpoints ahead of regionals: shoring up the lower and middleweight lanes, reducing exposure to bonus damage early, and maximizing late-match composure when duels hinge on a single sequence. The top end remains a strength. Burcher continued a standout freshman campaign at 197 with another pin, and Harper reinforced his heavyweight bona fides with a clinical fall—both results that keep the Cardinals’ ceiling high in duals and tournament scoring alike.
The broader arc remains encouraging. The program’s conference-week performance showed a group capable of navigating bracket pressure; the Salem swing, while unforgiving, spotlighted the fine margins that decide postseason sessions. Clean starts, match management through the middle, and tactical patience in scramble-heavy periods are the next-step priorities as Wheeling tightens its approach for Super Regional I in March (ET).
