By Duane Cochran for FightingFalcons.com

In December of 2014 Robert C. Byrd High School senior Jennifer Tassos walked off the floor of the Charleston Civic Center feeling pretty confident she had reached the apex of her athletic career.
 
After all, the Clarksburg native and team captain had just helped lead the Flying Eagles to their third straight West Virginia Class AA state championship in cheerleading and even though she knew she'd compete in all-star cheerleading in the spring she figured it was a pretty fitting way to close out her career in athletics.
 
However, the problem with Tassos is she admittedly has a pretty strong competitive desire burning inside her and that spring when presented with the opportunity to come to Fairmont State University in the fall of 2015 and compete in sport of Acrobatics and Tumbling she found the challenge and chance a bit too tempting to resist.
 
"From a young age I was always involved in something athletically," she said. "From third grade to middle school I was in gymnastics. Then in middle school I quit that to be a cheerleader. I cheered in middle school and high school and I also did all-star cheerleading that whole time.
 
"I still cherish my years of high school cheerleading, especially my sophomore, junior and senior seasons when we won three state titles. Honestly, my sophomore year, the first time we won is kind of a blur to me. I mostly remember my junior and senior seasons. My junior year we had no seniors and I was the only junior so I basically had to be the main leader because I was the oldest.
 
"Then my senior year my best friend, Erin Barberio, moved back to the area from Pittsburgh. We had cheered in middle school together, but she moved away. Her coming back and us being together again and winning the state title as seniors was special. I'll still watch videos of those years because it means a lot to me. I miss them. When that ended I honestly had no intentions to do anything athletically after high school at all. I was just going to go to school and be a student."
 
After a few months when Tassos was in all-star cheerleading her mind changed. She considered attending either Marshall University or West Virginia University to cheer, but when Fairmont State offered both she and Barberio the chance to come and explore the opportunity to compete in A&T the best friends found it pretty appealing.
 
"I felt like WVU was a bit too big school-wise for me and I considered going to Marshall to cheer because I had known some girls who did that and loved it," she said. "Then one night my mom (Inday Tassos) said someone had contacted her about A&T at Fairmont. I remember saying 'A&T, what is that?' A short time later both Erin and I were invited to attend one of Fairmont's practices.
 
"I still remember that afternoon. We walked in there like these two little babies and we see these girls lifting people over their heads and throwing them and doing all kinds of crazy things. At first I think we were both really nervous. I thought I'm not going to like this, but we tumbled with them and after talking with each other Erin and I decided to sign and give it a shot. Now, I'm really glad I did. Acrobatics and Tumbling is a great sport. It's given me so many opportunities I wouldn't have had if I didn't do it. It's also pushed me to do things I never thought I could do."
 
Tassos and Barberio, who are both small and stand just 4-11, were tops for the Falcons and both saw action immediately as flyers for the squad. The pair competed together for three seasons until Barberio got accepted to radiology school and opted to forgo her senior season with the Falcons.
 
"For me that was sad because I would have loved for us to have finished together, but she got a great opportunity and had to take advantage of it," Tassos said. "She's still in the stands at every home meet so that's good. I appreciate that."
 
The transition from cheerleading to A&T, as expected, took some time for Tassos. Now, however, it's like second nature to her.
 
"There's similarities between cheerleading and A&T, but there's definite differences too," Tassos said. "A&T is about perfection and doing things as close to perfect as you can. It's a fun sport and it's a fun sport to watch because it's always a battle. Sometimes there's only a fraction of a point which separates you from winning and losing. Look at our win over Hawaii Pacific this year. We trailed the whole meet and then won it in the team event by just over two-tenths of a point. That's pretty exciting."
 
Because of her size Tassos spends a lot of time in the air for the Falcons. Over the course of the last four years she's experienced her share of scrapes, scratches, bumps and bruises but has also come to have a wealth of respect for those holding, tossing and catching her.
 
"I've always been a top because I'm pretty small," she said. "It's just something I've grown used to over the course of several years. Sometimes I'm in the air three-people high and you've got to trust the people below you. Seriously you basically trust them with your life. I've been fortunate to have great bases here my four years. I couldn't do what I do without them. I have to trust what I'm doing in the air and then I have to trust whoever is under me to do what they do. We all have to be on the same page.
 
"I'll be honest, I like being tossed, flipping, twisting and doing crazy things in the air. It's what I do. Sometimes you pay a price. You get scratched and from time to time will have to endure some bumps and bruises that aren't always visible, but I wouldn't trade the four years and experiences I've had here for anything."
 
The last two years one of the main bases for Tassos has been sophomore Tamara Boles, who starred in prep cheerleading at Notre Dame High School in Clarksburg.
 
"Pretty much everybody in Harrison County knows Jennifer Tassos," Boles said with a laugh. "She was the go-to flyer for Byrd when they won all of those state titles and everyone knew how good she was. I actually got to compete with her on a couple of all-star cheerleading squads before I came to Fairmont State.
 
"So I knew her, but we really didn't get to be close until I came to Fairmont State. Coming here I knew she was a great top and a great flyer and that's really held up since I've been here. I've been her straddle hold bottom in four different events the past two years and she's a top you can always count on. That's really important for the sport that we do. You have to have someone who is accountable and Jenn is that. She's been great to hold the past two years.
 
"She's also a very positive person. She's always encouraging everyone to do their best."
 
Tassos is the daughter of Chris and Inday Tassos of Clarksburg. Her father has a profound love of music and was one of the founding members of the band Amici in the early 1980s which still plays shows today some 35 years later. Her mother was a former cheerleader and majorette at North Marion High School, who has always had a vested interest in her daughter's athletic career.
 
"My older brother (Gregory) played sports when he was young, but like my dad his interest turned to music as he got older," Tassos said. "My dad has always been supportive of what I do, but he's much more laid back than my mom.
 
"When I first got involved in gymnastics my mom was afraid I'd get hurt, but once I got into she loved it. She was a bit heartbroken when I gave it up and got into cheerleading, but then she eventually became the ultimate so-called cheer mom. She loved that and was all into it. She still makes cheer bows for cheerleaders and shirts for teams in the area.
 
"During my career here in A&T there hasn't been many competitions that she's missed. She might not always be on time. You know she tends to run late, but she gets there and I always find myself looking for her in the stands. She's been to Texas with me, California, Tennessee, Connecticut and several other places we've competed. I appreciate that. Her support means a lot to me."
 
Tassos is majoring in exercise science with a minor in psychology. She will graduate in May and plans to pursue a career as a physical therapy assistant. She will begin schooling for that this fall. She also has an interest in possibly coaching or judging either cheerleading or A&T in the future.
 
For now, though, Tassos' focus is on helping her team claim the first-ever Mountain East Conference Tournament championship which will be held at Fairmont State's Joe Retton Arena April 12-13. The Falcons are currently 6-1 overall and ranked fifth in the nation in Acrobatics and Tumbling.
 
"It's hard to believe I'm a senior already," she said. "They always say it goes quick. Boy does it ever. When you're a freshman you think wow I've got four years and now that I'm a senior I wonder where it went. It just seemed like the other day I was a freshman.
 
"I'm proud of what I've been able to do here and I'm proud of what our team has been able to accomplish the last four years, especially this year. I think this team is the closest one I've been on since I've been here. I think I've always tried to be a positive person and a person who supports and pushes others on the team to do their best.
 
"We've got the MEC's this weekend and we want to win that and then we'll focus our attention on nationals. There's 11 seniors on this team and we want to make the most of the time we have left here on the mat and do something special."
 
Look for Tassos and Fairmont State to make their best attempt to do just that.