Wheeling, W. Va. - In their first season on the mat, the Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team qualified for the event finals and took third a year ago. On Wednesday, the event final qualifiers for the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Acrobatics & Tumbling Championships were announced and, for the second straight year, the Cardinals are in the event finals. They will once again compete in the Tumbling Trio Pass, with Gianna Bjorn, Gabriella Jantz, and Savannah Poulos helping the Cardinals get back to the postseason stage.
Throughout the season, the Tumbling event has been the Cardinal's strongest event, with three of their veterans taking the mat. Sophomores Gianna Bjorn and Gabriella Jantz and junior Savannah Poulos have competed in the event throughout the year, and helped the Cardinals to an average score of 7.425. It was a competitive heat across the conference throughout the season, but the Cardinals were able to edge Frostburg State by .100 to claim the final spot. Joining Wheeling in that trio pass event will be Glenville State, with an average score of 7.725, and Fairmont State, with an average score of 8.250. The three teams will face off in Sunday's event finals event, with the winner between the three being crowned the 2026 MEC Trio Pass Event Champion.
The Cardinal's top mark in the Trio Pass would come in their first event of the season, when they competed at the Glenville State tri-meet. The Cardinals would begin with a start value of 8.85 and were able to put up a score of 7.400 in the event. Since that season opener, the team has scored at least a 7.00 or better in all but one event, with the exception being a 6.700 against West Liberty. Last season, the Cardinals also qualified for the event finals with the Trio Pass, and would finish third after putting up a score of 5.525 in the MEC Event Finals. Only one of the Cardinal qualifiers competed in the event finals for the Cardinals last year, and this year's group is looking to build on that score. Bjorn was a part of the Cardinal's trio pass event finals group last year, while Jantz and Poulos will each be competing in the conference championship event for the first time.
Entering the event finals, Wheeling is one of just two programs who did not make the team portion of the tournament, but are qualifying for the event finals. The other team to accomplish that feat is West Liberty, who will be in two heats throughout the day. The 2026 MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling tournament will feature #1 Fairmont State, #2 Glenville State, #3 Frostburg State, and #4 Kutztown competing in the semifinals on Saturday, April 11th. The event finals will kick-off the Sunday portion of the event, beginning at 12 PM and running through a normal meet structure. The tournament will wrap up Sunday night, when the two semifinal winners battle in the MEC Acrobatics & Tumbling Championships.
The Wheeling University Acrobatics & Tumbling team will compete in the 2026 MEC Event Finals on Sunday, April 12th, with heats beginning at noon.
