ERIE, Pa. – This was an ideal way to celebrate 12 seniors on the Gannon University acrobatics & tumbling team.
The Golden Knights rolled to a home-mat victory, swept all six events, and set a season-high point total in a 275.095-208.835 victory over Adrian (Mich.) College on Saturday afternoon at the Highmark Events Center.
After the meet, Gannon recognized the dozen seniors and presented them with flowers and a frame that included their jersey, gloves, and photos from their career.
The seniors who were honored included:
Addy Womeldorph (Parker, Texas/Allen),
Alexis Tosado (Sparks, Nev./Edward C. Reed),
Bethany Schirz (Reno, Nev./Edward C. Reed),
Jema Reasoner (Collierville, Tenn./Collierville),
Maria Ondrejko (Scenery Hill, Pa./Bishop Canevin),
Maddie Olsen (Phoenix, Ariz./Chandler Prep),
Abigail Miller (Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort),
Athena Martinez (Austin, Texas/Vista Ridge),
Michaelah Lanza (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North),
Morgan Gilbert (Black River, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Central),
Ashley Fallgren (Beaverton, Ore./Hillsboro), and
Sophie Binsol (Waldorf, Md./Westlake).
"The seniors definitely deserve it," coach
Brandy Duren said. "They put in such hard work and dedication throughout their last four years, and they really stepped up this year – to support me in becoming the head coach. They really have had the team on board and everybody going full-steam ahead. So it feels good to win. It's bittersweet because I don't want to see them go. Hopefully, I can convince some of them to come back for 'super' senior year."
Gannon also has four Super Seniors this year after they came back for their fifth year of eligibility (from the COVID season). They were
Sydney Hess (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan),
Sammy Gouge (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek),
Suzy Whiteman (Delmont, Pa./Franklin Regional), and
Lauren Arroyo (West Covina, Calif./Mater Dei). The foursome, who have all made a big impact this season, had previously been honored with Senior Day in 2022.
Womeldorph, Tosado, Reasoner, Ondrejko, Olsen, Lanza, Gilbert, and Binsol all contributed on the mat on Saturday for the Knights. Meanwhile, Schirz, Martinez, Miller, and Fallgren could not compete because of injuries but supported their teammates throughout the impressive victory.
Coach
Brandy Duren's Gannon squad improved to 4-2 in their quest to return to the NCATA Nationals this year. The Knights placed second in the nation last year, and most of this year's seniors were big contributors to Gannon's highest NCATA finish in program history.
The Golden Knights have been on a two-week layoff since going 1-1 on their western spring break trip to No. 3 Azusa Pacific and the No. 5 Oregon. Duren said she welcomed the two-week layoff from competition because it allowed her athletes to practice, focus, and prepare for the stretch run of the season.
"I think that the two-week break between meets was so needed," Duren said. "In February, we had five meets in one month, and it was back-to-back-to-back with only a couple of practices in between each meet, so it made it a little more difficult to prepare."
The Golden Knights had time to prepare for Saturday's meet, and it showed. They posted their season-best 275.095, topping their previous high score by more than seven points.
Gannon took a 15-point-plus halftime lead against Adrian by winning the first three events: Compulsory (37.800-30.750), Acro (27.200-23.100), and Pyramid (29.650-24.900). Their sensational performance in the Pyramid event included heat scores of 9.800, 9.950, and 9.900.
The Knights only added to their lead in the second half. They won the Toss (29.300-23.600) with fine scores of 9.800, 9.750, and 9.750. They then prevailed in the Tumbling event with a 55.975 total that included strong solo passes by
Ali Price (New Paris, Pa./Chestnut Ridge) (9.850), Lanza (9.775), and
Kat Rodriguez (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall) (9.500).
Gannon then closed the meet with one of its best Team event performances of the season as they piled up 95.170 points to Adrian's 63.410.
Gannon will have about two more weeks off before traveling to face East Stroudsburg on April 2. The Knights are scheduled to close their regular season at home on a Friday night, April 7.
Here are the Gannon student-athletes who participated in the meet:
Addy Womeldorph (Parker, Texas/Allen)
Alexis Tosado (Sparks, Nev./Edward C. Reed)
Ali Price (New Paris, Pa./Chestnut Ridge)
Annie Colantonio (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin)
Grace Harrick (Union City, Pa./Mercyhurst Prepatory School)
Kylie Brown (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem)
Courtney Solensky (Columbia, Conn./E.O. Smith)
Jema Reasoner (Collierville, Tenn./Collierville)
Kat Rodriguez (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall)
Lauren Arroyo (West Covina, Calif./Mater Dei)
Maddie Olsen (Phoenix, Ariz./Chandler Prep)
Maria Ondrejko (Scenery Hill, Pa./Bishop Canevin),
Emma Winters (Shelby Township, Mich./Eisenhower High)
Montana Muller (Catasauqua, Pa./Catasauqua)
Morgan Gilbert (Black River, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Central)
Nicole Pavia (Oxford, Conn./Oxford High)
Sammy Gouge (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek)
Sophie Binsol (Waldorf, Md./Westlake)
Suzy Whiteman (Delmont, Pa./Franklin Regional)
Sydney Hess (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan)
Charisma Felix (Las Vegas, Nev./College of So. Nevada High School West)
Peyton Oliver (Vallejo, Calif./Jesse M. Bethel)
Layna Bergeron (Johnston, R.I./La Salle Academy)
McKenna Wettstein (Moorhead, Minn./Moorhead)
Tori Soper (Sheffield Lake, Ohio/Ohio Connections Academy)
Lillie Fritz (Chandler, Ariz./Chandler)
Ty Upton (South Amboy, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas)
Michaelah Lanza (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North)
