Wheeling trio earns MEC Athlete of the Week honors

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (April 5) - A trio of Wheeling University student-athletes were named Mountain East Conference (MEC) Athlete of the Week in their respective sports announced the league office Monday afternoon.

Sophomore Emily Holzopfel (Rayland, Ohio/Buckeye Local) was tabbed MEC Women's Golfer of the Week, freshman Jaci Rife (Springfield, Ohio/Tecumseh) was named the Women's Track Athlete of the Week and freshman quarterback Jalen Lea (Washington, D.C./National Christian Academy) was named the Offensive Football Player of the Week.

Holzopfel turned in rounds of 76 and 73 to tie for first place individually and help the Cardinals place fourth overall at the University of Charleston Invitational held at the Edgewood Country Club last week.

Holzopfel was tied for third place entering the final round and carded a 73, which included birdies on three of the final five holes. Her round was good enough to enter into a playoff for medalist honors with Millersville's Hannah Yanoski, but Yanoski managed to win the two-hole playoff and win the event.

Rife helped the Wheeling Women's Track & Field team win the inaugurial West Liberty Invitational this past Saturday. She won the long jump with a winning mark of 5.29 metes (17 feet, 4.25 inches) and also came away with the individual title in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.80 seconds.

Lea was named the MEC Offensive Player of the Week after helping the Cardinals dispatch rival West Liberty 42-19 Saturday night. The true-freshman signal caller finished the evening 9-of-17 for 216 yards and four touchdowns (zero interceptions). He also added 20 yards rushing on 12 attempts, none bigger than a 17-yard rush on a 3rd-and-16 early in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals only led 28-19 at that point and the first down run eventually led to a touchdown to help put the game away.