Wheeling, W. Va. - Ahead of this weekend's Mountain East Conference (MEC) Acrobatics & Tumbling Championships, the conference honored the top athletes with the release of their annual All-MEC teams. After setting several program records on the mat during the year, the history keeps coming for the Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team, with the program earning their first-ever All-MEC honorees. Sophomore Gabriella Jantz and senior Ashleigh Aston were both honored, with both earning Second Team All-MEC honors for their work on the mat.
Gabriella Jantz is earning her first career All-MEC honor after leading the Cardinal's tops and tumblers group throughout the year. Tumbling is where she has really let her talents shine, participating in the MEC Event Final Qualifying Trio Pass as well as the Six-Element Individual pass. Individually, she took the six-element pass to new heights, sitting fourth in the conference averaging 8.881 in the event throughout the year. She finished just .106 from qualifying for the event finals, and set the program record with a mark of 9.300 in the team's first-ever DI match-up with Canisius. She is also one of a trio of Cardinals to head to the event finals, helping the Wheeling Trio Pass put up an average score of 7.425. Her other impact has come in the team's Pyramid Event, where she serves as a top for both the Inversion and Open Pyramids.
Ashleigh Aston is also taking home the first All-MEC honor of her career, serving as the primary base for the Cardinals throughout the season. Her leadership has helped elevate the Cardinals in both the Pyramid and Acro events, leading to several new team records throughout the year. The Open Pyramid was the Cardinal's highest scoring heat of the Pyramid event, putting up an average score of 9.150 on the season. In the team's final event of the season, Ashton would help the Five-Element Acro set a new program record, putting up a score of 8.85 in the heat. It came off a start value of 9.40, the team's highest start value in the heat this season, as Ashton continues to lead the Cardinals on the mat.
With the announcement of the Acrobatics & Tumbling All-MEC teams, the Wheeling University Athletic Department has now had 52 student-athletes earn All-MEC honors this season. Aston and Jantz write their name in the record books as the first Cardinals to earn All-MEC honors in program history. The last team to be honored was the Men's Golf program, who had Zak Collins, Sean Dobson, and Troy Loughry each winning honors.
The Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team returns to action on Sunday, April 12th, when they compete in the MEC Event Finals at 12 PM.
