Wheeling, W. Va. – Last time the Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team (1-4, 1-3) took the mat, they made history with their first-ever program win. The Cardinals look to keep the momentum going on Saturday as they head to the Hilltop for their second Tri-Meet of the season. Wheeling will take on the host West Liberty Hilltoppers and the newest MEC opponent Kutztown as they look to continue building on their skills on the mat.
Last time out, the Cardinals made their longest road trip of the season down to Institute, West Virginia to take on West Virginia State. It was a big day overall for the program, with the team winning five of the six events and setting 14 program records on the day. The success started right from the Compulsory Event, with the Cardinals scoring their highest total of the day in the Compulsory Toss at 9.01. The Cardinals won the event by the score of 27.66-25.05 before falling in the Acro event by just .30 points. It would be a sweep of the rest of the night for the Cardinals and they would finish the night with one of their strongest showings in the team event. Wheeling would set a new program record with a score of 72.20, competing with just 15 girls, and rounded out the winning effort with their highest point total in program history at 215.125.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Savannah Warren, who made some individual history of her own. The junior specialist would earn the team's first-ever Mountain East Conference (MEC) Specialist of the Week award, being a part of each of the top scoring events on the night. The top event for Warren and the Cardinals was the Open Pyramid, which the team began with a start value of 9.40. The Cardinals would only have .40 points worth of deductions, finishing at a 9.00 for the new program record in the open Pyramid. The Cardinals would have similar success in the Compulsory Toss, which ended up being their highest scoring event of the evening. Warren served as a member of the tossing base, helping throw teammate Giana Bjorn in the air, scoring a 9.10 out of 10.00 in the event.
Along with Warren's success, the Cardinals also saw top Tara Perry step up in a big way in the event. Perry had been a consistent mid for the Cardinals throughout the season, but was thrust into a tumbling role due to injuries. Perry would step up as a member of the team's quad pass group and helped the group tie the program record. The pair put up a score of 5.050, winning the quad pass for the first time this season with the help of Parry. Keala McCurry continues to be a leader in the individual events for the Cardinals, and once again took home a win in the Aerial Pass. McCurry would put up an 8.30 out of 8.60 in the event, setting the highest individual event score for the Cardinals on the day. MCCurry has been a leader for the team all season long and looks to continue that leadership into the final two weeks of the regular season.
With two more regular season meets ahead, the Wheeling Acrobatics & Tumbling team is working towards making an appearance at the MEC Acrobatic & Tumbling Championships in their first season. With the top four teams in the conference making it to the tournament, the Cardinals currently sit second with a record of 1-4 in MEC play. They sit 2.5 games behind Frostburg State for the final team spot, but still have several chances in individual team events. Along with the full team qualifiers, there are also Individual event finals in which the top three teams in each event compete against each other. The Cardinals currently have two events that are in line to qualify, the Open Pyramid and the Synchronized Toss and both events look to continue to improve and earn a spot in Fairmont State in April.
The Matchups
Kutztown: The Cardinals and Golden Bears will be meeting for the first time in team history in what is both team's first seasons in the MEC. Kutztown is in their fourth season as a program and are in the midst of their best season so far at 4-1. Their lone loss of the season came against Frostburg State in their season-opening tri-meet, and they are averaging 232.453 points per game. The Cardinals look to build off their recent success and challenge the Golden Bears throughout the day.
West Liberty: The Cardinals and Hilltoppers are meeting for the second time in program history, with West Liberty leading the all-time series at 1-0. The Cardinals are making their first-ever trip up to the hilltop, after the first meeting came in the first-ever meet for the Cardinals. That meeting came back on February 2nd, 2025, in a meet that West Liberty would win 245.225-185.170. Wheeling's highest scoring event on the night was the Compulsory Toss, scoring an 8.2, while Giana Bjorn led the way in the six-element Tumbling with a score of 8.00.
The Details
First events for Saturday's tri-meet are scheduled for 4 PM inside the Academic Sports & Recreation Complex on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
