No. 1 Baylor A&T Earns NCATA Athlete, Freshman Weekly Awards

[Allen, Madelon]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 26, 2025
No. 1 Baylor A&T Earns NCATA Athlete, Freshman Weekly Awards
Bears have earned an honor in all seven weeks of competition
For more information contact: Madelon Allen; 254-252-7168, madelon_allen at baylor.edu<mailto:madelon_allen at baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Top-ranked Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling had two earn weekly awards from the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA), announced by the organization on Wednesday.

With the announcement, the Bears have earned an award, honorable mention or outright, in all seven weeks of competition thus far.

After defeating then-No. 8 Iona on Saturday, Leavy McDonald was named Freshman of the Week for the fifth time while sophomore Payton Washington was named Athlete of the Week for the fourth time. Senior Jordan Gruendler was named Honorable Mention Specialist of the Week for Acro.

A redshirt freshman from San Antonio, McDonald is a base in six different heats as well as Team Event. She participates in all but two events on the mat. As the base in Acro H3, her top brought back the "pencil" in 7-element Acro, starting with a one-handed handstand and slenderizing, before competing the straight slide to split with a straight handstand as the top, earning a 9.80/10 - they are the only duo in the country to compete this skill and sequence. In heat one, she competes with two different tops, competing both hand-to-hand and hand-to-foot connections, earning a 9.85/10. She competes in all three Pyramid heats with two different tops throughout as a mid-level base, not scoring below a 9.8 on any of the heats, all with an SV of 10, including a 9.95/10 in heat 3. In the team event, she competes seven of the 30 required acro elements, five of which have an SV of 10, and is the mid-level base for a synced pyramid with an SV of 10.

Washington, a top and tumbler from Round Rock, Texas, is in nine heats for the Bears, as well as Team Event. Against the Gaels, Washington had scores at 8.65 and above in all nine heats, with all but one scoring a 9.55 or higher. She competes in at least one heat for every event for the Bears. Washington competes in seven synchronized heats overall as well, keeping in step with her constituents in the air and on the mat. In the Compulsory event alone, she helped BU tie a season high in the Toss with a 9.95, while earning a 9.65 in Acro and 8.65 in Tumbling. In Acro, the sophomore competes in 6-Element as a top, earning a 9.55/10. In Toss, she competes in two heats, the 450 Salto Toss heat and Synchronized Toss. In Heat 1, the Salto heat, she competes a kick-double and earned a season-high score of 9.8/10. In Heat 2, she and Emily Bott earned a 9.55/9.90. Moving on to the Tumbling event, Washington is a part of the Quad Tumbling pass, which earned a 9.70/10; a season-high for the Bears. She also competes a solo pass in the Open heat, earning a 9.875/10. During the Team Event, she competes two standing tumbling passes with start values at 9.8, along with two synched running tumbling passes with SVs of 9.55. Along with that, she competes a toss with a 9.9 SV and a synchronized acro sequence.

NEXT UP
The Bears return to the Ferrell Center to continue the three-meet homestand to finish the regular season, hosting No. 10 Saint Leo on Saturday for a 5 p.m. meet.

To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor acrobatics & tumbling, follow the team on Facebook, X, TikTok and Instagram: @BaylorAcroTumb.

- BaylorBears.com -





__________________________________

Madelon Allen | Associate Director of Athletics Communications
A&T, EQ, VB, BaylorBears.com
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-252-7168

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