KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Kutztown University acrobatics & tumbling put forth a strong effort against one of the top teams in the nation on Senior Day, Saturday, inside Keystone Arena. The Golden Bears trailed fifth-ranked Fairmont State by just 1.7 points at halftime before the Falcons extended their advantage to 258.915-239.465 at the finish. Despite the defeat, Kutztown secured the fourth and final spot in the upcoming Mountain East Conference Championship in their first season as an associate member of the conference.
 
The Maroon and Gold were juiced up for their regular season and home finale, scoring 9.0 or better in 8-of-10 first half heats across the compulsory, acro and pyramid events.
 
Kutztown (6-3, 3-3 MEC) scored 9.6/10 in the compulsory pyramid heat and 9.55/10 in the toss heat to open the meet. Fairmont State (8-1, 6-0 MEC) won the first two events as the Golden Bears kept relative pace with the MEC and national powerhouse.
 
Head coach Karah Paull, a Fairmont State graduate, saw her team get the best of her alma mater in the pyramid event with three terrific scores. KU went 9.7/10 in the inversion heat, 9.55/10 in the synchronized heat and 9.7/10 in the open heat to outscore the Falcons 28.95-28.35.
 
All six senior athletes contributed to Kutztown's 9.7 in the pyramid inversion heat: Shayla Anderson-Buchanan (Philadelphia, Pa./New Hope Christian Academy), Allison Fernandez (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), Natalie Harkins (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem), Tiffani Lincoln (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta), Maddie Welsh (York, Pa./Central York) and RoseMary Werkheiser (Easton, Pa./Easton). They were joined by Sydney Jundt (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester), Catherine Lewis (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford), Jordyn Osner (Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown), Haley Sullick (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) and Evyn Heberlig (Newburg, Pa./Shippensburg).
 
Lincoln, Jundt, Lewis, Heberlig, Welsh, Werkheiser and Cecilia Marshall (Bellingham, Mass./Home Schooled) produced the Bears' 9.7 in the pyramid open heat.
 
Fairmont State led 92.85-91.15 at the intermission but extended its lead in each of the three second half events.
 
Kutztown's top second-half performance came in the tumbling 6-element heat where Lincoln scored 9.3/9.55.
 
The Golden Bears will now travel to top-seeded Fairmont State for the MEC semifinals next Friday, April 11, for a 2 p.m. start. No. 2 Glenville State will meet No. 3 Frostburg State in the other semifinal at 5 p.m. Event finals are scheduled for Saturday, April 12, at 11 a.m., and the MEC championship meet will be held that same day at 5 p.m.
 
For more information on the MEC Championship and to purchase tickets, click here.