Arthur and Washington Bring Home Freshman and Athlete of the Week Honors
3/4/2026 2:30:00 PM | Acrobatics & Tumbling
Mo has grabbed every Freshman award of the season and Payton has received her 9th Athlete of the week recognition
WACO, Texas - Mo Arthur earned her fourth consecutive weekly honor from the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA), being named Freshman of the Week on Wednesday. She was joined by Peyton Washington, who secured her third Athlete of the Week recognition of the year.
Mo Arthur, a freshman mid-level and base from Owensville, Missouri, earned Freshman of the Week honors after competing in eight individual heats in addition to the team event.
She opened the meet in Compulsory Acro, scoring a 9.65/10 as a base. In Compulsory Pyramid, she earned a 9.85/10, competing as a mid-level. Arthur also based in Compulsory Toss, helping post a 9.90/10.
Arthur competed as a base in the 7-Element Acro heat, earning a 9.80/10. In that heat, she introduced a groundbreaking skill to the sport. Mo served as a base beginning in a needle position, and the top is in a straddle. Then Mo moves from a needle position into a two-hand handstand, where her foot leaves the ground with the top's straddle still on the other foot. In the second portion of the heat, the crowd saw the two-hand stacked handstand, where Mo goes to one arm, which no one has ever competed in our sport, and no one's ever competed the needle. In the skill, Arthur demonstrates exceptional strength, control, and innovation.
Baylor needed to submit these skills to the scoring committee for addition to the system, and they received a high level of difficulty, with a raw score of 11.
In Heat 1 Pyramid, Arthur competed as the mid-level base and delivered a 9.95/10. In both Heat 2 and Heat 3 Pyramids, she competed as a main base and earned a 9.90/10 and 8.95, respectively. In Heat 3, Mo served as the main base in the innovative slide to split 3-high pyramid, a newly introduced structure in the sport. In this pyramid, the two-man bases slide in synchronized splits while supporting two additional levels of structure above them. The sequence requires exceptional strength, balance, and coordination, and Mo executed it with control and confidence.
She continued her strong performance in Toss, serving as a base in Heat 2 Toss and scoring a 9.55 out of 9.90, before earning a 9.70/10 in Heat 3 Toss as a base.
In the Team Event, Arthur performed an elite acro sequence, successfully executing five of the 30 required acro skills — each with a start value of 10. Her performance throughout the event was marked by high-level execution and precision.
Earning her third weekly honor of the season, Payton Washington delivered a powerful and technically demanding performance, competing in eight individual heats in addition to the team event.
She opened the meet with a 9.65/10 in Compulsory Acro as a top and followed with a 9.90/10 in Compulsory Toss. Washington helped score an 8.70/10 in Compulsory Tumbling.
In Heat 2 Pyramid, she competed as a top, scoring 9.90/10.
Washington competed in Heat 2 Toss (9.55 out of 9.90) and Heat 3 Toss (9.70/10), while adding strong tumbling performances with a 9.30/10 in Heat 3 Tumbling (Quad) and 9.90/10 in Heat 5 Tumbling. Her individual tumbling pass was the highest score of the meet
In the team event, Payton competed in three standing tumbling passes, each with a start value of 10. She also executed two tosses (one with a start value of 9.9 and one with a start value of 10), performed three acro skills as a top within the acro sequence (all start values of 10), topped a pyramid (start value of 10), and completed a synchronized running tumbling pass. Her performance reflected a high level of difficulty and execution across all areas of the routine
NEXT UP
The Bears will be on the road for a tri-meet with LIU and American International College on March 7th in Springfield, Mass., with a start time of 1 p.m. CT at the Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.
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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