FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Regular season champion and top seed Fairmont State will face second-seeded Glenville State in Saturday’s Mountain East Conference Acrobatics & Tumbling Championship.
The host Falcons, ranked No. 5 nationally by the NCATA, advanced after winning Friday’s second semifinal by eliminating fourth-seeded Kutztown, 268.465-248.850, to return to the championship. The Pioneers opened Friday’s action by leading wire-to-wire against third-seeded Frostburg State, and hanging on for a 252.815-249.005 win.
The semifinal competition was held inside Joe Retton Arena on the campus of Fairmont State University. Fairmont State and Glenville State will meet Saturday at 5 p.m. for the MEC title.
Saturday’s action will get underway at 11 a.m. with the MEC’s Event Finals. The participants for the Event Finals qualifiers were announced Wednesday and can be found here.
Glenville State def. Frostburg State, 252.815-249.005
Final Scoresheet (PDF)
By Glenville State Sports Information
The Glenville State Acrobatics & Tumbling team advanced to the MEC Tournament Championship with a 252.815-249.005 semifinal win over third-seeded Frostburg State today. The Pioneers now await the winner of top-seeded Faimront State and the No. 4 seed Kutztown Golden Bears.
The Bobcats kicked off the meet with score of 35.575 in the Compulsory Event. The Pioneers would go next and be awarded a total event score of 35.675 to take the lead by less than a point.
In the Acro Event, the Bobcats had a shaky performance, only scoring 26.175 and bringing their total meet score to 61.750. The Pioneers scored a 9.175 or higher in all three heats to earn a score of 28.075 for the event, bringing their meet total to 63.750 and lead the Bobcats by two whole points.
The last event before halftime was the Pyramid Event. Frostburg State had a solid performance with their lowest-scoring heat being the inversion pyramid at 9.150. The Bobcats total event score would be 28.475 to increase their overall meet score to 90.225. The Pioneers dominated this event as they have done all season long, producing a total event score of 29.150 and bring their total meet score to 92.900 at the break.
The Toss Event kicked off the second half of the meet. The Bobcats would barely edge out the Pioneers in this event, scoring 27.050 compared to the Pioneers 27.025. However, the Pioneers still held a two-plus point lead through four events.
FSU squeezed by Glenville State again, this time in the Tumbling Event, as they would be awarded 48.300 while the Pioneers earned a 48.250. Going into the final event of the afternoon, Glenville State held onto a 168.175-165.575 advantage.
The last event of the evening was Team Event. In a down to the wire meet, the Bobcats closed out the day with a 83.430 while GSU notched a team event score of 84.640. The announcement of the final scores solidified the Pioneers ticket to the Mountain East Conference Championship, defeating Frostburg State 252.815-249.005.
Fairmont State def. West Liberty, 272.290-256.800
Final Scoresheet (PDF)
By Fairmont State Sports Information
The top-seeded Fairmont State University acrobatics & tumbling team squared off against the fourth-seeded Kutztown University Golden Bears in the MEC Championship semifinals. The Falcons were able to soar their way to the championship meet with a 268.465-248.850 victory.
The Compulsory Event kick started the evening as Fairmont State posted a 37.375 compared to 35.250 for Kutztown. The Falcons earned a 9.750 in both the pyramid and toss heats.
Moving into the Acro Event, the top-seed kept the momentum going with a 28.350. In the 7-element heat, the group of Katey Koehl, Brylee Knotts, Alexa Wilson and Reghan Mollohan combined for a score of 9.600.
In the Pyramid Event, the hosts kept widening its lead with a 29.450. Fairmont State had three strong heats with scores of 9.775, 9.775 and 9.900. At the half, the Falcons led 95.175-90.400.
Out of the break, the Falcons were given a score of 28.550 for the Toss Event with a 26.125 for the Golden Bears. The open heat was the strongest for Fairmont State as Taylor Openlander, Katey Koehl, Izaria McWhorter-Martin, Alexa Wilson, Alexis Wilkinson and Olivia Daniels were given a score of 9.625.
The advantage continued to grow with the Tumbling Event as Fairmont State earned a 53.350. Azia Shaffer's aerial pass was judged to be a 9.725 with a start value of 10.000. Then in the open pass, Katey Koehl was given a 9.800.
Final event of the day was the Team Event as the Falcons posted a 91.390 with Kutztown receiving an 84.800.
Fairmont State will face the second-seeded Glenville State Pioneers in the MEC Championship on Saturday, April 12. Start time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. The event finals will precede the championship meet at 11:00 a.m.