Wheeling, W. Va. – After being on the road for the first two events of the season, the Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team (1-2, 0-2) heads to the Alma Grace McDonough Center for the first time on Sunday. They welcome in Canisius University for the first of two home meets for the Cardinals, with the first event beginning at noon. It will be a historic game for the Cardinals, as they compete against an NCAA DI school for the first time in program history.
The last time the Cardinals took the mat was back on February 16th, after their last meet got postponed due to snow, when they took on West Liberty in "The Battle for Wheeling." The Cardinals were able to check a few firsts off their list for the 2026 season, picking up their first event win as well as their first heat win of the season. After starting the night out in the Compulsory event, the first what win for the Cardinals would come in the 7-Element Acro. Wheeling would add one more heat win before the half and kept things close at halftime trailing 85.25-71.85. In the second half, the Cardinals came out strong with their first heat win in the Toss, beating the Hilltoppers 22.65-21.90. They rounded out the night with a score of 60.810 in the team event, bringing their event total to 198.085.
Despite not winning the event, it was the Pyramid event that produced the highest score of the day at 26.95. It was led by a pair of two 9.00+ performances in the Inversion and Open Pyramids, with the highest score coming in the Open. The Cardinals began with a start value of 10.00, and would set the program record with a score of 9.350. The momentum came after a strong start to the event, that saw the Cardinals take on the Inversion Pyramid. With a start value of 9.70 for the event, the Cardinals would lose just .600 points, putting up a score of 9.100. The pyramid event was the one that Head Coach Alexis Kelly was most excited about coming into the season, and their hard work is paying off in the early going.
On the individual side, it has been freshman Laicey Angelle leading the way as a Tumbler. Angelle has been a part of the team's Open Pass this season, and started with a strong start value of 8.90. She would put up the highest heat score of the event, securing a score of 8.425. She finished just .100 shy of West Liberty's Open Pass. The Cardinal Tumblers have been leading the way since the program's beginning, with Gianna Bjorn and Gabriella Jantz taking on the other two events against the Hilltoppers. Bjorn would compete in the Aerial Pass, putting together a score of 7.875, while Jantz competed in the six-element event, scoring 7.925. The tumblers will look to continue leading the way throughout the season on the run to the MEC Championships.
Sunday will mark a first for the Wheeling Acrobatics & Tumbling team as they take on the first NCAA DI opponent in program history. They welcome in Canisius, who has established themselves as a mainstay in Division I Acro & Tumbling and currently sit at 1-0 on the young season. It will be a chance for the Cardinals to take on top competition, and see how they stack up on the mat. Wheeling will be looking to continue their personal improvement on the mat and look to compete against a top DI program.
The Details
First Events for Sunday's meet are scheduled for 12 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE.
