Wheeling, W. Va. – In each of their first two events of the 2026 season, the Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team (1-2, 0-2) has improved upon their score. They will have to continue that trend on Sunday when they travel to Frostburg State to face the two teams that's took on each other in the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Acrobatics & Tumbling Championships. They head to Bobcat Arena on the campus of Frostburg State, when they battle the host Bobcats as well as Fairmont State, with first events beginning at 2 PM.
Last time out, the Cardinals made the short drive up Route 88 when they battled rival West Liberty in "The Battle for Wheeling." As a team, the Cardinals added 7.527 points to their total score, but it was the individual events that saw the biggest success. The Cardinals would pick up both their first event win of the year as well as their first heat wins of the year as they took on the host Hilltoppers. The event win would come in the Toss event, with the Cardinals putting up three 7.000 scores or higher to beat West Liberty 22.65-21.90. As the night went on, the success kept coming for the Cardinals as they secured four heat wins across three different events. In the end, it was another step forward for the young Cardinal team as they get closer to reaching the 200 point mark for the first time during the 2026 season.
Despite not earning the event victory, the Cardinal's highest event score of the day would come in the Pyramid event, where they scored 9.00 or better in two of the three heats. Their highest scoring heat would be in the Open Pyramid, where they set a program record with a score of 9.350 on a start value of 9.700. It would end up being a program record for the Open Pyramid heat, and the Cardinals were just .350 points shy of West Liberty from picking up the heat win. Their other 9.00 plus performance would come in the Inversion Pyramid, where another program record fell. The Cardinals would put together a score of 9.100, picking up one of their four heat wins on the day. They took down West Liberty's Inversion Pyramid by 0.600 in the event and were that same distance away from their start value in the heat.
Leading the individual events for the second meet in a row was Laicey Angelle, who once again competed in the Open Pass. She would put together the best individual tumbling score of the day, putting together an 8.425 on a start value of 8.90, and was within .010 points of her first heat win of the season. Her other event in the Tumbling heat was the Duo Pass, where she combined to put together a score of 6.550. The Cardinal's lone heat win in the Tumbling event would come in the Trio Pass, led by Gianna Bjorn and Gabriella Jantz. The threesome would end up putting together a score of 7.400 on a start value of 8.75. They would take down West Liberty's trio pass 7.400-6.700 as they took their first heat win of the season. The Cardinal tumblers continue to be the leader of the program and they will be asked to continue their success on Sunday.
Through their first two events of the season, the Cardinals have raised their score both times, and are sitting above their scoring average from the start of last season. Through two events, the Cardinals are averaging 194.323 points per event compared to a 161.3475 through the first two events last season. Sunday will offer them a test as they prepare to take on the two programs that faced off for the MEC Championship last season. Both are ranked in the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) standings, with Fairmont ranking #6 while Frostburg State sits just outside the top 20, and the Cardinals will look to continue to improve their scores as they try to climb the NCATA standings themselves.
The Matchups
Fairmont State: The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the second time in program history, with Fairmont State leading the all-time series at 1-0. It will be the first time the Cardinals have gone on the road to face the Falcons, after their hosted the team in their first meeting a season ago. The first meeting for the two teams came back on February 16th, 2025, in an event that Fairmont State would 261.790-137.525. Leading the effort was former Cardinal Keala McCurry, who would pick up the program's first ever individual event win in the Aerial Pass, putting together a score of 8.250 off a start value of 8.60.
Frostburg State: The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the second time in program history, and the first time at Bobcat stadium. Frostburg State holds the all-time series record at 1-0, and will be hosting the Cardinals for the first time in the series. The first meeting between the two teams came on February 19th, 2025, in a meet that Frostburg State won 237.540-121.325. Former Cardinal Keala McCurry led the effort, finishing with a score of 8.40 in the Aerial Pass, while Gianna Bjorn and Gabriella Jantz added to the individual success with a 7.925 in the six-element and a 7.650 in the Open Pass to round out the night.
The Details
Sunday's meet is scheduled to begin at 2 PM inside Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Frostburg State University. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE.
