Glenville, W. Va. - The 2026 Acrobatics & Tumbling season opened for the Wheeling Acrobatics & Tumbling team (1-1, 0-1) traveled to the Waco Center in Glenville, West Virginia in tri-meet action. The Cardinals would fall just short of the 200-point mark, scoring 190.560 in their season-opening outing. It was enough to earn the split of the day, falling to #12 Glenville State 254.255-190.560, and defeating Bluefield State 190.560-112.125 for their first win of the 2026 season.
The Cardinals highest scoring event of the day came in the tumbling events, where the Cardinals put up 44.800 points out of a possible 50.70 points in the event. Things started off strong in the Duo Pass, where the Cardinals put up a 7.000 off of a start value of 8.35. The Trio pass would add a 7.400, out of 8.75, while the Quad pass scored a 5.300, out of 7.25. However, it would be the individual tumbling events that would lead the way, starting with Gianna Bjorn in the Aerial Pass. Bjorn would post the first of three 8.0 scores or better at the event, scoring 8.025 to start things off. Next was Gabriella Jantz in the 6 Element Pass and she would set the bar even higher with an 8.425 in what was her first try in the event for her career. Rounding out the Tumbling was the individual debut of Laicey Angelle, and the freshman did not disappoint. She put up a score of 8.650, setting the new program Open Pass record, to round out the day.
The night would get started with the Compulsory Event, with the Cardinals scoring 27.70 across the four different heats. Their first 8.0+ score of the day would come in the Toss Heat, where the Cardinals scored an 8.60 out of a start value of 10. Wheeling trailed Glenville State by just seven points coming out of the event, and held a 10-point lead over Bluefield State. The Acro Event was Wheeling's lowest scoring of the day, seeing the Cardinals score 15.55 points out of a start value of 27.95. They would round it out on a strong note, however, scoring a 6.50 in the 7-Element Acro, and carried that momentum into the Pyramid. Head Coach Alexis Kelly was debuting a new Pyramid at the event, and it would get the Cardinals their highest event score of the night.
It came in the Open Pyramid, where the Cardinals set a program record, scoring 9.10 out of a start value of 10. The Cardinals would eclipse a score of 6.0 in each of the three heats, and headed into halftime with 66.80 points on their plate. They would come back for the Tumbling event, where they put together their highest score of the day, and rounded out the night in the team event. Wheeling and Glenville State were the only two teams to compete in the event, and the Cardinals would take the mat with a start value of 92.46. The Cardinals would finish with a score of 62.51 for the event, falling 23 points shy of the 85.58 mark set by Glenville State. It would bring Wheeling to their final score of 190.560, concluding a strong start to the 2026 season.
The standout heat of the day would be the Open Pyramid, where the Cardinals set a new program record at 9.10. It was a pyramid that was competed for the first time in program history, and they look to continue to improve upon their skills throughout the season. The individual standout on the day was freshman Laicey Angelle, who took on the Open Pass in her individual collegiate debut. She would flip her way to a program record in the event, putting up a score of 8.650 to sit as the second highest scoring heat of the night.
The Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team returns to action on Monday, February 16th, when they travel to West Liberty at 6 PM.
