Lexi Wilkinson Continues Climb as Fairmont State Heads to National Championships as No. 4 Seed
By Michael Minnich on April 19, 2026
In her junior year on Fairmont State’s acrobatics & tumbling team, Bridgeport’s Lexi Wilkinson has seen her program grow at the national level.
“Coming in as a freshman, we were the 8-seed. Last year, we were the fifth and now we’re the fourth,” Wilkinson said. “It’s really cool to see that progress and the determination of us as athletes and our coaching staff’s drive to push us to become our best selves make us essentially the No. 1 Division II school in the nation.”
The Fighting Falcons are on that 4-line for the NCATA national championships, hosted by Azusa Pacific in Azusa, California, and the three names above them are ones you know: Baylor. Oregon. Quinnipiac.
Fairmont State opens with No. 5 Augustana on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.
“We have a really good chance of making it past the second round this year with us being the 4-seed….we’ve got something to prove this year.”
Last weekend, they repeated at Mountain East Conference champions to earn that NCAA bid.
“Coming in as a freshman, we were also the No. 1 seed and we let it fall as a team,” Wilkinson said. “Being able to go back two years in a row was just really exciting. It shows the grit and determination of our program.”
Wilkinson said the Falcons didn’t get ahead of themselves.
“We just kept saying all weekend, ‘Brick by brick.’ Put one foot in front of another and be present with where we are,” Wilkinson said. “Knowing what we can do as a team is something so incredible.”
Winning the conference championship was mental as well as physical.
“It really is exhausting to do essentially three meets within two days,” Wilkinson said. “We really just tried to enjoy the moment, knowing this is our last time competing at home this year. I think having a positive mindset helped.”
Fairmont State’s roster has plenty of in-state flavor: Brenna Blauvelt (East Fairmont) Josie Bradley (Parkersburg South), Catelyn Haney (Fairmont Senior), Makenna Huss (Parkersburg South), Kailey Mullins (Oak Hill), Kassidy Price (Midland Trail), Macy Riggs (Fairmont Senior), Azia Shaffer (Uniersity), McKenzie Sowers (Keyser), Cali Way (Parkersburg), Morgan Webb (Shady Spring) and Alexa Wilson (Fairmont Senior).
“It shows the growth of this sport. Acrobatics and tumbling is really starting to take off. There are so many schools within West Virginia alone,” Wilkinson said. “I’ve competed against them at the high school level and now we get to compete with and against them at the college level.”
Now, they have to turn the page to nationals.
“It’s like, okay, we got one hard part over with, but we’re still on that grind of showing up, getting to practice and putting our best foot forward,” Wilkinson said. “We’ve just been focusing on what we know how to do. We don’t want to push the limits or exhaust ourselves doing crazy, hard stuff.”
With a win Thursday, Fairmont State would face either No. 1 Baylor or No. 8 Duquesne, which features Doddridge County alum Anna Trent, on Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern.
The other half of the bracket contains No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Quinnipiac, No. 6 Iona and No. 7 Gannon.
The national championship is Saturday at 8 p.m., with individual event finals on Sunday at 1 p.m.
All meets will be streamed live on ESPN+.
“I really think my goal is to put my best self out there mentally and physically. For a lot of my teammates, this is the last go-round,” Wilkinson said. “I want to know I was really present with myself and my team and that we did everything we could. All of those hours were worth at the end of the day.”
It’s the last year for NCATA to administrate the sport before it comes a full-fledged NCAA tournament in 2027.
“Sometimes, I don’t think we as athletes realize in the moment how cool these things are because we’re just so immersed in everything,” Wilkinson said. “Next year, we are officially an NCAA sport and we get to compete for an NCAA title. It’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is real.’ We really are doing these kind of things as athletes. It’s really amazing to see.”
Competing in those individual events against Wilkinson’s Falcons will be her former Bridgeport teammate and current Glenville State athlete Emilia Underwood.
“It’s really awesome. For so long, we were always on the same side and had the same goal. Now we’re on two opposite sides but still competing for the same goal,” Wilkinson said. “It’s a different kind of competitiveness between the two of us, but there’s also that respect and wanting each other to do well and be the best versions of ourselves. It’s awesome to be able to cheer each other on but be a little competitive at the end of the day.”
Wilkinson’s time in Bridgeport shaped her success.
“We had a really great program, we were a really great school, but it was always about, ‘Yes, you are great and we do come from something good, but we also need to remain humble.’ It’s not just about your sport, it’s about you growing as a human,” Wilkinson said.
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