No. 1 A&T Sweeps NCATA Weekly Awards
2/26/2025 3:00:00 PM | Acrobatics & Tumbling
Fifth time in program history the Bears take all accolades
WACO, Texas – Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling has swept the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) awards, announced by the organization on Wednesday.
It is the fifth time in program history that the Bears have earned all three awards in the same week.
Payton Washington earned Athlete of the Week, Jordan Gruendler was named Specialist and Leavy McDonald was named Freshman.
This is McDonald's second career weekly honor from the NCATA after being named for the same award on February 19. Gruendler and Washington have both been named Honorable Mention previously this season for both the Athlete and Specialist awards.
This is Washington's first Athlete of the Week award, being named Freshman of the Week twice last season. The sophomore competed in eight heats against No. 4 Oregon, not including team event. She did not have a score below a 9.3 across those heats, with her highest score coming in Compulsory Toss at a 9.95. Along with that heat, she competes in Compulsory Acro (9.75/10) and Compulsory Tumbling (9.30). In the optional portions of the meet, Washington is a top in the synchronized acro, heat two, which earned a 9.75. She is also a top in Toss heat one (9.75/9.90) and the synced heat two (9.40/9.90). In the Tumbling heats, she competes in the Quad pass (9.3/10) and the solo Open pass (9.625). In the Team Event, she competes two standing passes with a 9.80 start value and two synced running passes that start at a 9.55. She also competes a 9.90 Toss and a synced Acro sequence.
Gruendler, a top from San Antonio, earns her eighth career Specialist of the Week honor. The senior earned the accolade for Pyramid, having competed as a top in all three heats. Both the Inversion heat (heat one) and the Open heat (heat three) earned a 9.90/10, while the Synchronized heat (heat two) earned a 9.7/10. In all three heats, she is based by McDonald. In the Open heat, she competes the reverse planche and is the only top in the country to do so in a pyramid.
McDonald, a redshirt freshman also from San Antonio, bases in six heats, not including team event. In those heats, none scored below a 9.7 and five of them scored a 9.9 or above. She is seen in all three heats of Pyramid with Gruendler and is in both heat one and three of Acro, each earning a 9.9 against the Ducks. In the third heat of acro, she completes a straight slide to split before rotating into a straddle as Gruendler competes the reverse planche. She is the only base in the country to compete this skill. In Team Event, McDonald is in seven of the 30 required Acro elements, five of which are scored at a 10.0-point start value,none below a 9.80.
Baylor NCATA Weekly Award Sweeps
NEXT UP
The Bears return home to face Azusa Pacific on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Ferrell Center for the Go Gold meet.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor acrobatics & tumbling, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram: @BaylorAcroTumb.
It is the fifth time in program history that the Bears have earned all three awards in the same week.
Payton Washington earned Athlete of the Week, Jordan Gruendler was named Specialist and Leavy McDonald was named Freshman.
This is McDonald's second career weekly honor from the NCATA after being named for the same award on February 19. Gruendler and Washington have both been named Honorable Mention previously this season for both the Athlete and Specialist awards.
This is Washington's first Athlete of the Week award, being named Freshman of the Week twice last season. The sophomore competed in eight heats against No. 4 Oregon, not including team event. She did not have a score below a 9.3 across those heats, with her highest score coming in Compulsory Toss at a 9.95. Along with that heat, she competes in Compulsory Acro (9.75/10) and Compulsory Tumbling (9.30). In the optional portions of the meet, Washington is a top in the synchronized acro, heat two, which earned a 9.75. She is also a top in Toss heat one (9.75/9.90) and the synced heat two (9.40/9.90). In the Tumbling heats, she competes in the Quad pass (9.3/10) and the solo Open pass (9.625). In the Team Event, she competes two standing passes with a 9.80 start value and two synced running passes that start at a 9.55. She also competes a 9.90 Toss and a synced Acro sequence.
Gruendler, a top from San Antonio, earns her eighth career Specialist of the Week honor. The senior earned the accolade for Pyramid, having competed as a top in all three heats. Both the Inversion heat (heat one) and the Open heat (heat three) earned a 9.90/10, while the Synchronized heat (heat two) earned a 9.7/10. In all three heats, she is based by McDonald. In the Open heat, she competes the reverse planche and is the only top in the country to do so in a pyramid.
McDonald, a redshirt freshman also from San Antonio, bases in six heats, not including team event. In those heats, none scored below a 9.7 and five of them scored a 9.9 or above. She is seen in all three heats of Pyramid with Gruendler and is in both heat one and three of Acro, each earning a 9.9 against the Ducks. In the third heat of acro, she completes a straight slide to split before rotating into a straddle as Gruendler competes the reverse planche. She is the only base in the country to compete this skill. In Team Event, McDonald is in seven of the 30 required Acro elements, five of which are scored at a 10.0-point start value,none below a 9.80.
Baylor NCATA Weekly Award Sweeps
| Date | Athlete | Specialist | Freshman |
| February 21, 2018 | Ceara Gray | Kaylee Adams | Morgan Celum |
| April 8, 2021 | Kamryn Kitchens | Emily Tobin | Riley Chimwala |
| April 16, 2021 | Kamryn Kitchens | Emily Tobin | Riley Chimwala |
| February 28, 2024 | Riley Chimwala | Jordan Gruendler | Payton Washington |
| February 26, 2025 | Payton Washington | Jordan Gruendler | Leavy McDonald |
NEXT UP
The Bears return home to face Azusa Pacific on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Ferrell Center for the Go Gold meet.
To stay up to date all year long on all things Baylor acrobatics & tumbling, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram: @BaylorAcroTumb.
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