Cheatwood and McCabe Named Co-Student-Athletes of the Week

Cheatwood and McCabe Named Co-Student-Athletes of the Week

December 05, 2022 04:23 PM | General, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Basketball, Women's Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, Wrestling

By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After a pair of record-breaking performances over the weekend, junior Ceili McCabe of the West Virginia University track and field team and freshman Mia Cheatwood of the WVU swimming and diving team have been named the WVU Co-Student Athletes of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

McCabe broke the WVU program record in the women's 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:50.44 to take first-place at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston, on Dec. 3. She broke her own record that she set at the Colyear-Danville Season Opener in 2021, when she earned a time of 8:52.52 to first in the 3,000-meter run last season.

Cheatwood was one of 14 Mountaineers competing at USA Swimming's U.S. Open in Greensboro, North Carolina, from Dec. 1-3. She highlighted WVU's performances with a pair of finals appearances in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke. The Bowling Green, Ohio, native began the weekend by breaking the WVU long course record in the 100-meter breaststroke on Dec. 2, swimming an Olympic Trials cut time of 1:10.18 in both prelims and finals to finish 11th overall in the finals. Cheatwood bested the previous record of 1:11.33, set by Jenelle Zee (2011-15).

To cap her weekend, Cheatwood earned her second trip to finals after finishing 15th overall in the 200 breast prelims on Dec. 3, touching the wall in 2:34.77. In the B final, she finished eighth with a time of 2:38.67.

This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers are off.

Last Week in Wrestling: The West Virginia University wrestling team fell to No. 4 Missouri, 38-3, in its first visit to Columbia, Missouri, at the Hearnes Center on Dec. 2 … redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley, ranked in the top 30 at 197 pounds and scored a 3-1 victory over Missouri's Colton Hawks after securing a takedown with two seconds left in the bout … at 165 pounds, junior and No. 7-ranked junior Peyton Hall battled No. 1 Keegan O'Toole (Mizzou) in the showcase matchup of the night … Hall held O'Toole scoreless through the first period, before the Tiger earned an escape after beginning the second period on bottom and added a takedown in the final seconds of the third period to hang onto a 3-0 decision … redshirt senior Alex Hornfeck had a tough battle against No. 13 Jarrett Jacques at 157 pounds, down 4-1 heading into the third period, Hornfeck pulled off a reversal to get within one midway through the third period, but Jacques escaped with a 4-3 decision.

Notes: West Virginia earned 13 votes in the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches poll … WVU currently stands at 3-1 overall and 1-1 against Big 12 competition … the Mountaineers have six Mountaineers ranked nationally by FloWrestling … wrestlers included were No. 7 Killian Cardinale (125), No. 22 Sam Hillegas (149), No. 7 Hall (165), Honorable Mentions Anthony Carman (184) and Austin Cooley (197), and No. 19 Michael Wolfgram (HWT) … this is the first season the program has had six wrestlers ranked nationally at the same time since 2012, when No. 23 Shane Young (125), No. 25 Nathan Pennesi (133), No. 29 Michael Morales (144), No. 21 Lance Bryson (174), No. 16 Matt Ryan (184) and No. 17 Brandon Williamson (HWT) made the list ahead of the postseason (EWL and NCAAs).

This Week in Swimming & Diving: West Virginia is off this week … WVU returns to action when it kicks off the new year with a dual meet at Pitt on Saturday, Jan. 14 … action at Trees Pool in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: Fourteen members of the swimming and diving teams competed at USA Swimming's 2022 Toyota U.S. Open from Dec. 1-3, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina … the Mountaineers' weekend in Greensboro was highlighted by a pair of finals appearances by freshman Mia Cheatwood … the Bowling Green, Ohio, native placed 11th overall in the 100-meter breaststroke finals with an Olympic Trials cut time of 1:10.18 … she then earned her second trip to the finals in the 200 breast, touching the wall in 2:38.67 to finish eighth in the B final … seniors Jacqueline McCutchan, Conrad Molinaro, David Snider and Roberts Zemturis, juniors Justin Heimes, William Mullen, Joe Schaefer and Roanoke Shirk, sophomores Zhenya Ingram, Reilly Keaney, Conner McBeth and Braden Osborn and freshman Adam McDonald also competed at the U.S. Open over the weekend.

Notes:
Cheatwood's time in the 100 breast set a new WVU long course program record in the event, besting Jenelle Zee's (2011-15) previous record of 1:11.33 … Cheatwood and incoming Mountaineer Danny Berlitz, who swam unattached, earned Olympic Trials cut times in the 100 breast and 200 IM, respectively … WVU recorded seven lifetime-best times at the U.S. Open.

This Week in Women's Basketball: WVU (6-1) is set for two games this week … West Virginia opens the week on Thursday, Dec. 8, as it plays host to Robert Morris inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown … Thursday's contest against the Colonials is set for 7 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on Big 12 Now … the Mountaineers close out the week with a trip to State College, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Dec. 11, where they will take on Penn State … Sunday's contest against the Nittany Lions is set for 4 p.m., inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

Last Week in Women's Basketball:
West Virginia picked up a pair of wins at home last week … the Mountaineers began the week with an 89-58 win over NC Central on Nov. 30, before defeating Delaware State, 63-47, on Dec. 3 … fifth-year senior guard Madisen Smith averaged 22 points last week and tied her career high with 24 against Delaware State … senior guard Jayla Hemingway paced WVU in the rebounding department last week, averaging 5.5 boards per game … Hemingway also averaged double figures last week at 10.5 points per game … WVU's defense continued to shine and forced at least 20 turnovers in each of the last two games.

Notes: With 25 forced turnovers against Delaware State, West Virginia has now forced 20 or more opponent turnovers in six of seven games this season … additionally, WVU has forced at least 25 opponent turnovers in four games this year … the Mountaineers rank No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 6 nationally in turnovers forced per game (26.00) … Smith leads the Mountaineers in scoring in 2022-23, with 15.1 points per game … the Greenville, South Carolina, native now has 991 points in her five-year career and needs nine more to reach 1,000 … Smith ranks No. 8 in the Big 12 in points per game … she is joined in double figures this season by sophomore guard JJ Quinerly (10.4) … redshirt sophomore guard Kyah Watson leads the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 11.50 … the Rapid City, South Dakota, native has a team-high 23 assists and just two turnovers this season … WVU is 17-1 all-time against Robert Morris and has six victories against Penn State.

This Week in Track & Field: The West Virginia University track and field team does not compete this week … the season picks back up on Jan. 14, with the Nittany Lion Challenge in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Last Week in Track & Field: Junior Ceili McCabe and redshirt senior Hayley Jackson competed at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener … McCabe broke the WVU program record in the women's 3,000-meter run and earned first with a time of 8:50.44 … she broke her own record she set at the Colyear-Danville Season Opener in 2021, when she earned a time of 8:52.52 to finish first last season … Jackson also ran the 3,000-meter race and earned a time of 9:39.5.

Notes: "It's nice to see Ceili rebound off of what we felt was a performance less than she was capable of in the Cross Country NCAA National Championship," coach Sean Cleary said. "Sometimes it's just not your day, and what Ceili has done in two weeks to put herself back in position for a performance like today's is simply outstanding. The level of competition in Boston was truly national class, and it's nice to see Ceili back on her A-game."