MARS HILL, N.C. — The No. 10 Belmont Abbey acrobatics & tumbling team got the 2024 season off to a good start with a 264.640-250.960 victory over Mars Hill Saturday at Chambers Gymnasium.
 
Dating back to last season, the Crusaders have won eight of the last nine Conference Carolinas meets. The 264.640 is the best score in a season opener in program history and the fourth-highest overall.
 
Saturday's meet was the season opener for both programs as Belmont Abbey starts the year 1-0 overall and in Conference Carolinas competition.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Event 1 — Compulsory
The Crusaders finished with 35.35 out of a possible 40 points compared to 34.70 from Mars Hill. The Pyramid and Toss heats yielded the highest totals of the event for the Abbey with 9.35 and 9.10, respectively.
 
Event 2 — Acro
Belmont Abbey put together a strong showing in the event with all three scores reaching above a 9.0. The best score of the event came in 7-Element Acro (Heat 3) with the team earning a 9.55 from a start value of 10. Erena Chaples, Madeleine Martin, Kristin Fary, Bri Camp and Blythe Terrell contributed to that score. Heats 1 and 2 finished with scores of 9.25/10 and 9.2/9.9, respectively.
 
The Crusaders had a 28.00-25.90 advantage in the meet.
 
Event 3 — Pyramid
The Crusaders were just 0.55 points away from a perfect score in the event. The team finished with scores of 9.95 in Heat 1 and 9.75 in both Heats 2 and 3. The Abbey had a 29.45-26.35 in the event and led 92.80-86.95 advantage at halftime.
 
Event 4 — Toss
Belmont Abbey edged Mars Hill 26.40-25.80 in the event. The highest score came in the Open Toss (Heat 3) with a 9.0/9.3 start value. Fary, Emily Wueste, Isabella Schrout, Terrell, Trinity Martinez and Gracie Grady made up the team who earned the Open Toss score.
 
Event 5 — Tumbling
Mars Hill made up some ground on the Abbey with a 50.30-48.90 advantage. Four of the six heats featured scored of 8.25 or higher. The two highest scores came from Chaples in the Open Pass (Heat 6) 8.850/9.10 and Martinez in the Aerial Pass (Heat 4) 8.60/8.90. Additionally, freshmen Sadie Hunt and Payton Lanier competed in individual heats for the first time.
 
Event 6 — Team
The Crusaders closed the meet with a 96.54 from a 101.49 start value. It is the third time in program history the team has earned a 96 or higher in the team event. Mars Hill finished with an 87.91 from a 100.66 start value.
 
UP NEXT

• The Crusaders will head on the road for a tri-meet against Coker and Francis Marion at 3 p.m. Friday in Hartsville, South Carolina.
• Belmont Abbey's first home meet will be Saturday, February 24 against Limestone at 6 p.m. at the Wheeler Center.