Wheeling, W. Va. – In their 2026 season opener, the Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team (1-1, 0-0) showed off some new skills, earning a split of the day. On Monday, they are set to travel up Route 88 to compete in "The Battle for Wheeling" when they face West Liberty at 6 PM. The young Cardinal team displayed some new skills on the mat in their opener at Glenville State and look to continue to build that skill-base at West Liberty.
Last time out, the Cardinals traveled to the Waco Center in Glenville, West Virginia for their first tri-meet of the season. They would end up splitting the day, beating Bluefield State 190.560-112.125 while falling to Glenville State 254.255-190.560. Wheeling started off the day strong in the Compulsory event, where their best performance came in the Toss event, where they put up a score of 8.60 out of 10. The Acro Event was next, and was the lowest scoring for the team, as they scored 15.555 points across three events. They would end the event with a 6.50 in the seven-element, and the momentum carried them into their highest scoring team event, the Pyramid. They displayed a brand new pyramid in the Open Pyramid and notched their highest score of the day at 9.10. Their individuals would shine in the tumbling portion, putting together a 44.800 across the six events, while the day rounded out in the team competition. With a start value of 92.46, the Cardinals secured 63.51 points to round out the day.
In her collegiate debut, Laicey Angelle made an immediate impact on the Cardinals competing in the Open Pass of the Tumbling event. She would set a new program effort in the event, putting up a score of 8.659 out of a start value of 8.90, losing just 0.241 points in the event. Angelle was a key contributor throughout the night, and also was able to get the Tumbling event started, competing in the Duo Pass. She would compete alongside Courtney Hurst, and the two athletes would put up a score of 7.000 out of a start value of 8.30. Altogether, Angelle would compete across 10 heats throughout the night, including four of the five in the Acro event. She served as a top for the 7.85 scoring Acro Pyramid event, and helped the synchronized Pyramid score a 6.15. Her event with the highest team score that she competed in was the 450 Salto Toss, where the group scored 8.000 out of 9.000. in total, she accounted for 124.36 of the Cardinals 190.560 points on the evening.
She was joined in the individual events by a pair of sophomores in Gabriella Jantz and Gianna Bjorn, who each competed in individual events last season. Bjorn started things off in the Aerial Pass putting up a score of 8.025 put of a start value of 8.60. She would compete in the Trio Pass to round out the tumbling event, after helping lead the event to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Event finals last season. She would be part of the highest scoring team event in the Tumbling heat, putting up a score of 7.400 out of a start value of 8.65. Jantz followed her in the six-element Pass, and reached higher than Bjorn with a score of 8.425 out of a start value of 8.85. Like Bjorn, Jantz was also a member of the Trio Pass group that was the highest scoring team event in the tumbling heat. Both sophomores had been key contributors in the tumbling event over the last two seasons and both will continue to be leaders in the event throughout the 2026 season.
As they continue through their February schedule, the Cardinals will have to continue to be road warriors through their MEC schedule. They hit the road Monday to take on West Liberty, and wrap up the February stretch with a Tri-Meet at Frostburg State on Sunday. It will be the first time that the Cardinals are competing twice during the same week, as they look to continue to add to their team score. Wheeling improved their first event score by 5.39 points from last season, and got the chance to compete against their first ranked opponent of the season. The early season schedule does not favors for the Cardinals, who will compete against three of the four teams that qualified for last season's MEC Tournament. Wheeling has shown some strong skills through the opening meet, and will have a chance to get closer to their start values as the meet goes on. The team scored 71.4% of their possible points in the first event and look to continue that success as the season goes on.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers are meeting for the third time in program history, with West Liberty leading the all-time series at 2-0. It will be the first trip up the hilltop for the Cardinals, after hosting West Liberty and competing in a neutral site competition. They have put together an average score of 195.17 points across the two matches, including one 200+ point effort in the all-time matchup .
The last meeting between the two teams came on March 22nd, 2025, in a game that West Liberty won 245.650-205.165. The highest scoring event for the Cardinals was the Pyramid, that scored 25.90 across the three heats, with the Open Pyramid scoring an event best 9.05. Former Cardinal Keala McCurry would add a score of 8.30 in the Aerial Pass, while Gianna Bjorn. Hit a score of 8.00 to round out the six-element Tumbling event.
The Details
First events on Monday begin at 6 PM inside the Academic Sport and Recreation Complex on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE.
