Wheeling, W. Va. - After playing through their inaugural season as a program, the Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team (2-6, 1-5) will be taking the mat for their first postseason event on Saturday. The field was announced for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Acrobatics & Tumbling individual event finals and the Cardinals had their Tumbling Trio Pass selected to compete in the event. The team of Gianna Bjorn, Courtney Hurst, and Emma Jackson will represent the Cardinals with the event finals set to begin at 11 AM.
The Cardinals wrapped up their regular season last time out when they competed on senior day against Bluefield State inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. It was a big day for the Cardinals, who picked up wins in five of the six events across the night, while just falling short of hitting the 200-point mark for the third straight event. They had four heat scores of 8.00 or higher in the event, with their highest scoring event coming in the Compulsory Toss Heat, where they hit the high-water mark of 9.20. In total, the Cardinals would win 15 of the heats and set five new program records against Bluefield State. Wheeling would hold a commanding 94.300-77.100 lead heading into the team event, and capped things off with a 68.29 point performance as they went on to win by the final score of 198.10-174.900.
While the tumbling event was the only event that the team lost on the day due to having to bow out of the quad pass, it was the Trio pass that would lead the synchornized pass attempts. The team of Keala McCurry, Bjorn, and Hurst would combine for a score of 7.100 in the event, beating Bluefield State by 1.400 points to get the victory. It was tied for their third highest score of the season for the event and helped cement themselves as one of the top three teams in the event in the MEC. With a start value of 8.00 in the event, the Cardinals would lose out on just .900 points to earn them their first win in the Tumbling event on the night. It was the third time in six events that the Cardinals were able to eclipse the 7.000 mark in the event and they look to keep that success going in the conference event finals.
Each of the members competing in the event finals had their own success on the mat, with Bjorn and Hurst each also taking on individual passes on the day. Bjorn was up first in the 6-element pass, as she has done all season and put up a 7.425 out of a start value of 8.60 in the event. Bjorn has been working on honing her skills in the event all season long and is looking to continue that success in the event finals. For Hurst, it was just her first time taking on the Open pass as she filled in for the injured Gabrielle Jantz, Hurst had one of the strongest showings in the event of the season, putting up a score of 7.775 out of a start value of 8.00. She was able to edge her competition by .025 points to earn the win and nearly helped the Cardinals overtake the Big Blue in the event.
The 2025 MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling Championships will be hosted by Fairmont State beginning with the team semifinals on Friday, April 11th, followed by the event finals on Saturday, April 11th, beginning at 11 AM. In total, six of the seven MEC programs will be represented at the event, with the host Fairmont State leading the way with 14 different events being represented. The Cardinals will have one event in their first season after working hard throughout the winter months. The Event Finals will feature 15 different heats, starting with the Five-Element Acro and working their way down to the Open Tumbling event. Each heat will have three to four teams competing, with the events being picked based on the top three average scores at the event during the regular season.
Event Details
The Cardinals will be competing in the Trio Pass of the MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling event finals, where they will compete against Fairmont State and West Liberty. The Cardinals put together an average score of 7.033 in the trio pass during the season, sitting third in the conference. They will be the first of the three teams to take the mat in the event, after competing against both teams in the event during the regular season.
Wheeling and West Liberty would compete in the first event of the season back on February 2nd, with West Liberty winning the first meeting 7.200-6.450. The Cardinals and Fairmont State would meet in the next event, with the Falcons winning 8.650-7.350, and Wheeling and West Liberty would meet one final time in their tri meet against Kutztown. This time, the Cardinals would best the Hilltoppers, winning the heat 7.800-6.850 to round out the regular season meetings.
The Details
The 2025 MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling Event finals are scheduled for Saturday, April 12th, with first events beginning at 11 AM. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE.
