* Championship Central

FAIRMONT, W.Va. - The top two seeds in the 2024 Mountain East Conference Acrobatics & Tumbling Championship moved on to the championship meet with semifinal victories on Friday night at Joe Retton Arena. The top-seeded Falcons and second-seeded Bobcats will meet for the MEC Championship on Saturday afternoon, beginning at 3 p.m., inside Joe Retton Arena.

The Falcons and Bobcats will meet for the championship for the third-consecutive season, with the programs spliting the previous two matchups.

Saturday's action will get underway at 11 a.m. with event finals. Click here for a full list of event finals qualifiers.

Below are complete recaps of Friday's semifinal action.

Frostburg State def. Glenville State, 266.315-261.060
Final Scoresheet (PDF)

By Frostburg State Sports Information
The Frostburg State Acrobatics & Tumbling team used a strong second half performance to defeat third-seeded Glenville State 266.315-261.030 in the MEC Tournament Semifinals on Friday evening.
 
FSU began the meet with a victory in the Compulsory event, taking all four heats en route to a 37.35-36.275 score. Each of the two highest heat scores went the way of the Bobcats, earning a 9.775 in both the pyramid and the toss, while also scoring a 9.35 in the acro heat.
 
Despite winning two of the three heats in the Acro event, Frostburg fell behind in the meet, losing 27.55-26.25. GSU kept things to within a tenth of a point in each of the two heats they lost, while outscoring the Bobcats by a point and a half in the 6-Element in their win. FSU put up high scores of 9.50 in the 7-Element and 9.40 in the 5-Element.
 
Both teams turned in outstanding performances in the Pyramid event to close out the first half, as each of their scores scored a 9.625 or above, with the Bobcats narrowly coming out ahead 29.20-29.15. A half-point win in the inversion (9.75-9.70) and a quarter-point decision in the synchronized (9.65-9.625) were enough for the victory, as the sides tied with a 9.80 in the open heat. In spite of the loss, Glenville still held a narrow 92.95-92.80 lead at the half.
 
With a 28.050-27.075 win in the Toss event, FSU took the lead in the meet for the first time since the opening event. Frostburg scored 9.05 and above in each of the three heats, including a high score of 9.525 in the synchronized toss.
 
The Bobcats furthered their advantage in the Tumbling event, winning 52.275-50.375 to open up nearly a three-point gap in the meet overall. Frostburg won four out of the six heats, with the highlight being senior Abbie Baker's near-perfect 9.95 in the open pass, while junior Nia Ivanov also impressed, putting up a 9.225 out of a possible 9.55 in the 6-Element, her first time competing in the heat this season.
 
In their best performance of the year, FSU took the team event 93.190-90.660 to secure the semifinal victory 266.315-261.030.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 6-2 on the year, while Glenville ends their campaign at 6-4.


Fairmont State def. West Liberty, 272.290-256.800
Final Scoresheet (PDF)

By Fairmont State Sports Information
The top-seeded Fairmont State University acrobatics and tumbling team hosted the semifinal of the Mountain East Championship. The Falcons posted its highest score of the year against the fourth-seeded West Liberty Hilltoppers, 272.290-256.800.

Prior to the meet, the MEC honored its First-Team and Award Winners. Among those from the Falcons were Katey Koehl (Athlete of the Year & First-Team), Alexis Wilkinson (Freshman of the Year), Izaria McWhorter-Martin (First-Team) and Chloe Smith (First-Team).

Starting in the Compulsory Event, Fairmont State jumped ahead 38.000-36.600. In the pyramid heat, teams of: Katey Koehl, Reghan Mollohan, Izaria McWhorter-Martin, Giavana Poyner, Kassidy Price, Elizabeth Maurer, Rylee Vinson, Olivia Daniels, Hope Kiszka, Magdeline Gigliotti, Brylee Knotts, Kaylee Rehak and Jessi Wolf posted a score of 9.750.

Moving to the Acro Event, the Falcons expanded upon their lead, taking the event 28.525-25.775. For the 7-Element heat, a combination of Koehl, Knotts, Gigliotti and Maurer earned a 9.600 out of a possible 10.00.

The final event before halftime was the Pyramid Event with FSU edging out West Liberty, 28.825-28.625. The open heat was the highest scoring for the home team, 9.775. At the half, Fairmont State led 95.350-91.000.

Coming out of the 15-minute intermission, the Falcons claimed the Toss Event, 27.650-25.825. Taylor Openlander, Koehl, McWhorter-Martin, Alexa Wilson, Mollohan and Daniels received a score of 9.675 with a start value of 9.90. 

Fairmont State continued its performance in the Tumbling Event, posting a score of 53.550, compared to 51.475 for West Liberty. The trio pass of Noelle Ellison, Kaelyn Joseph and Natalie Moore was only .200 off their start value of 8.500 with an 8.300.

In the Team Event, the Falcons secured its highest score of the year with a total of 95.740 to earn the score of 272.290.