Wheeling, W. Va. - The 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Acrobatics & Tumbling Tournament got underway Saturday, with the top four teams battling it out for the divisional crown. On Sunday, the tone will shift to the top teams in each heat, and the Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team will be represented with their second straight appearance in the MEC Event Finals. For the second season in a row, the Cardinals will be competing in the trio pass, with Gianna Bjorn, Gabriella Jantz, and Savannah Polous vying for an individual event championship.
Last time out, the Cardinals wrapped up their regular season competing at the Frostburg State tri-meet against the host Bobcats and the Fairmont State Falcons. It was an event that was rescheduled from late February, and pitted the Cardinals up against the #4 team in the country. The Cardinals would respond with a strong showing, setting 14 season-high efforts in the game, including a heat win over that #4 team in the country. It would come in the Acro's Five-Element Heat, where the Cardinals posted a score of 8.85 on a start value of 9.40. It was enough to beat the Falcons and put them second for the meet. The Cardinals would pick up two more individual heat wins on the day, earning second place finishes in both the six-element pass and the open pass in Tumbling. They would put up identical scores of 8.90 to beat Frostburg State. They would get themselves over the 200-point mark for the third time this season, scoring 203.900 points to finish third in the field.
The Cardinals will be represented by three athletes at the annual event finals, with sophomore Gabriella Jantz leading the way. Jantz was one of two All-MEC honorees for the team, taking home Second Team All-MEC honors as a Top/Tumbler. Jantz was one of the athletes who helped her team pick up the second place heat win when she competed in the Six-Element Tumbling heat. She would put up a score of 8.90 in the heat and beat Frostburg State's competitor by 0.875. Jantz has been a star in the event throughout the season, setting her career best with a score of 9.425 in the home meet against Canisius. Jantz has also been a member of the team's trio pass throughout the season, and looks to continue to push them towards the top of the conference.
Joining her in the event will be junior Savannah Polous and sophomore Gabriella Jantz, who have combined in the trio pass throughout the year. Bjorn has been the other Cardinal to compete in an individual pass, taking on the Aerial Pass in every meet this season. She was able to put up an average meet score of 7.994 in the event, and was right around that average in the regular season finale. She would put up a score of 8.00 on a start value of 8.60 to round out the individual portion of the event. Rounding out the event final qualifiers is Savannah Polous, who has been a member of the trio pass throughout the season. While she does not compete in any of the individual tumbling passes, Polous has been a consistent top for the team throughout the year. She helped play a role in the program record in the five-element acro heat and has been a big part of the pyramid success throughout the year.
As they head into the event finals, the Cardinals are looking to improve their performance from last year's showing. A season ago, Bjorn, Courtney Hurst, and Emma Jackson made the trip down to the event finals and finished third in the field with a score of 5.525. They enter as the #3 seed in the MEC in the event, with an average score of 7.425 in the event. They will be competing against a pair of ranked opponents in Glenville State (7.725) and Fairmont State (8.250) as the three teams battle for the event championship. They are coming off a strong performance at the Frostburg State tri-meet, where they finished with a score of 7.650 off a start value of 8.75. Their start value entering this season's event finals is two points higher than where it was a season ago, and they are looking to take advantage of that on the mat.
Event Schedule
The 2026 MEC Event Finals are starting at 12 PM inside Joe Retton Arena on the campus of Fairmont State. The event finals will run on the same schedule as a normal meet, beginning with the Compulsory event and running through the Tumbling event. The only event that will not be competed at during the MEC Event Finals will be the Team Event, which is only competed in during the MEC Tournament. The Cardinals will be participating in the fifth to last heat of the day in the trio pass as they compete to round out the day.
The Details
The 2026 MEC Event finals are scheduled for noon inside Joe Retton Arena at Fairmont State University. You can watch the event live by clicking HERE.
