Danielle Cutri, the 2021 Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year, enters her fifth season leading the Fairmont State acrobatics & tumbling team.
In the 2024 season, the Acrobatics & Tumbling squad posted a 7-3 record including a perfect 5-0 record against the MEC. The Falcons claimed the MEC Regular Season title and hosted the conference championships. Fairmont State also had the honor of hosting the NCATA National Championships where the Falcons once again secured a spot in the tournament. It was the 11th time the maroon & white qualified for the national championships since 2013. The MEC honored six members of the team in their postseason awards including Katey Koehl being named Athlete of the Year and First Team All-MEC. Joining her in the postseason awards were Izaria McWhorter-Martin (First Team), Chloe Smith (First Team), Reghan Mollohan (Second Team), Rylee Vinson (Second Team) and Alexis Wilkinson (Freshman of the Year). Koehl, for the second-straight year, was named to the NCATA All-America Team as Vinson was named to the NCATA All-Academic Team.
Acrobatics & Tumbling finished the 2023 season going 9-3 overall with a 4-1 MEC record. The Falcons made it to the MEC Championship Meet while also earning a berth to the NCATA National Championships. Six Falcons were honored by the conference including Peyton Barnes as she was named MEC Specialist of the Year and All-MEC Second Team. Emily Brock (First Team), Brionni Dowson (First Team), Katey Koehl (First Team), Izaria McWhorter-Martin (Second Team) and Taylor Openlander) joined Barnes in the conference selections. Katey Koehl also earned NCATA All-American status, becoming the sixth in Fairmont State history.Â
In the 2022 season, Cutri saw the Acrobatics & Tumbling earn their third consecutive MEC Conference Championship and secured a berth into the NCATA National Championships for the ninth time since 2011. The Fighting Falcons finished the season with a record of 9-2 and a perfect 6-0 in MEC meets. Fairmont State rallied past Frostburg State in the MEC Championship Finals by a final of 256.695 to 255.550. The Falcons also brought home three individual event titles in the five-element acro, aerial tumbling, and six-element tumbling pass. Five athletes received recognition at the conference as Alexis Smith repeated as MEC Athlete of the Year and was also named to the All-MEC First Team. Peyton Barnes (Second Team), Ansley Froman (First Team), Priscilla Richmond (First Team), and Hannah Sadler (First Team) joined Smith in the conference selections.
Cutri mentored fifth-year senior Alexis Smith to her second consecutive MEC Athlete of the Year in 2022 and repeated as an NCATA All-American. Smith is the sixth NCATA All-American in program history (2021, 2022), as she joinsÂ
Karah Naples (2019), Catherine Reynolds (2019), Danielle DiCarlo (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), and Kayla Green (2012).
Cutri also saw junior Peyton Barnes named to the NCATA All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year as Barnes is pursuing degrees in National Security & Intelligence, Criminal Justice, and Political Science.
In her first season as head coach, Curti led Fairmont State to a 5-0 overall record and her team swept the MEC Regular Season and Tournament Championships. Additionally, the Falcons ranked No. 7 in the country in the final NCATA rankings of the season. Fairmont State had the highest adjusted average score among conference teams during the season with 259.930, and had the highest score in the league (266.645) in its final meet of the season. Fairmont State also swept the MEC Postseason Awards and four student-athletes earned first team All-MEC honors in 2021.
A four-time National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) All-American,Â
Danielle Cutri is the second head coach in program history.
Cutri took over the head coaching role in 2020-21 after serving as an assistant coach for the program since 2016, where she helped longtime coachÂ
Kristi Kiefer and the Falcons earn a trio of NCATA National Tournament appearances and also became the first program in the sport of Acrobatics & Tumbling to win a conference championship after earning the Mountain East Conference regular season and tournament championship in 2019.
Longtime Fairmont State Acrobatics & Tumbling coachÂ
Kristi Kiefer shared her excitement for Cutri and her new opportunity as the program's head coach.
"From the day I first recruited Danielle as an athlete I knew that she had the leadership skills and talent that would make her a successful coach in this sport one day," said Kiefer. "Danielle has been by my side for the past nine years as a student-athlete and assistant coach and she possesses all the attributes and has a great passion for this sport. Fairmont State is getting a great head coach that will continue the legacy of this program.
"I'm also very excited to continue working with Danielle in an administrative role and I'm looking forward to watching the growth of the program as the sport enters the NCAA as an emerging sport," Kiefer continued.
During her time as an assistant coach, Cutri was also instrumental in the development of two NCATA All-Americans and six All-Mountain East Conference performers in 2019.Â
Karah Naples andÂ
Catherine Reynolds each earned All-American honors, and the duo also earned MEC Athlete and Freshman of the Year, respectively, following the historic season for the program.
During her five seasons as an assistant coach for the Falcons, Cutri helped Fairmont State to a 25-17 overall record, including a winning record in each of the past three seasons. Fairmont State was 6-2 during the 2018 season, 8-2 during the 2019 season, and 4-0 during the 2020 season before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the season.
"I am honored to be named the next head coach for Fairmont State Acrobatics & Tumbling," said Cutri. "I have been very fortunate to learn and grow in this sport as an athlete and assistant coach under the leadership ofÂ
Kristi Kiefer. Those opportunities helped lead me to my first head coaching job at my alma mater.
"As an alumna of Fairmont State, this University holds a special place in my heart, and I am eager to continue mentoring and inspiring young women on and off the mat. I'm incredibly grateful for the trust and support of President Martin, Athletics DirectorÂ
Ryan Courtney and the Fairmont community. I also want to thank my husband Sage for his everlasting support as I have chased my dream of becoming an Acrobatics & Tumbling head coach.
"I am looking forward to leading this program into a new decade of excellence. Soar Falcons!"
In addition to serving as an assistant coach since 2016, Cutri is also five-year member of the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association's (NCATA) scoring committee, and is also actively involved in many aspects of the association.
Prior to joining the Fairmont State coaching staff, Cutri was a four-time NCATA All-American as a standout for the Falcons on the mat. In fact, in 2015 Cutri and Oregon's Tera Lubert became the first four-time All-Americans in the association's history.
Cutri competed in as many as 11 heats during her career and helped Fairmont State to multiple 10.0 perfect scores. She also helped Fairmont State qualify for the NCATA national tournament during all four seasons during her career, including the program's lone national semifinal appearance in 2013 following a quarterfinal victory over Baylor University.
In addition, the standout also helped Fairmont State qualify for individual event finals in 11 different heats during her career – including five heats as a freshman, and three heats as a sophomore and junior.
Cutri graduated from Fairmont State University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Health Science in 2015. She continued her education by obtaining a Masters of Arts degree in Coaching & Athletic Administration in 2019 from Concordia University, Irvine.
Cutri and her husband Sage currently reside in Fairmont. She is a native of Steubenville, Ohio.
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| Danielle Cutri Record 2021-Present |
| Year |
Overall Record |
Conference Record |
| 2021 |
7-0 |
5-0 |
| 2022 |
9-2 |
6-0 |
| 2023 |
9-3 |
4-1 |
| 2024 |
7-3 |
5-0 |
| Total |
32-8 (.800) |
20-1 (.952) |
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