WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University acrobatics and tumbling coach Kelsey Kyle cast a wide net in bolstering her fast-rising Lady Hilltopper program with another outstanding recruiting class.
    Kyle, who saw her promising first season as a head coach cut short by the COVID-19 outbreak in March, will be adding eight new faces to the WLU roster for the 2021-22 season with the group's hometowns ranging from coast to coast.
    Technology proved to be the key to success on a recruiting trail littered with pandemic potholes as Kyle relied heavily on social media to spread the gospel of the NCAA's newest emerging sport and the Lady Hilltopper program.
    "Recruiting was a challenge but with this class, it was also a lot of fun," Kyle said. "We're very active on social media anyway so I would start by initiating dialogues with prospective student-athletes through our team Instagram account. We also took advantage of the opportunity to conduct a lot of 'virtual visits' through Zoom or FaceTime.
    "There were still times when we were able to safely bring some of our recruits to campus for in-person visits. That gave them a chance to meet with many of our current team members and those interactions really helped."
    Four of Kyle's eight early-signees hail from the tri-state area of West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania but the Hilltopper coach also landed standouts from as far away as Maryland, Texas and Oregon.
    The WLU early-signing class is as impressive for its accomplishments as its geography. There are several elite level gymnasts in the group along with multiple regional, state and national and international competitors.
    "We're always looking for a good mix of tops and bases," Kyle said, "but we focused pretty heavily this year on student-athletes with strong tumbling backgrounds, as you can see by the large number of gymnasts in this class. I'm really looking forward to seeing how adding their skills to the mix will help elevate our tumbling scores."
    Here's a quick look at the eight future Lady Hilltoppers:
    ELLE GODBY hails from Chapmanville, W.Va. and is a senior at Scott High School. Godby was a Level 9 gymnast at Revolution Gymnastics in Cross Lanes, W.Va. and a regional placer in the balance beam. A member of the track team and National Honor Society inductee at her high school, Elle plans to major in Elementary Education at West Liberty.
    GILLIAN HARTZ brings a background in gymnastics and competitive cheer to the hilltop from West Mifflin (Pa.) High School. The Duquesne, Pa. native competed in regional gymnastics competitions as a Level 9 gymnast at Premier Gym and Cheer in Whitehall, Pa. She also competed on the Level 6 competitive cheer team at Rain Athletics in McKeesport, Pa., which earned a bronze medal at the National Cheerleaders Association Small Senior 6 championships and qualified for the Worlds. An outstanding student, she plans to pursue a Pre-Med major.
    ABBEY HORVATH makes the short trip to West Liberty from Wellsburg, W.Va. where she is a senior at Brooke High School. Abbey helped lead the Bruin cheerleading squad to four consecutive West Virginia Class AAA regional runner-up finishes and a state runner-up finish in 2017. She also has an extensive background in competitive cheer, competing for X-Treme Tyme, ONE and Pittsburgh Pride. She plans to major in Dental Hygiene.
    MADISON KAYSER is a senior at South River High School in East Edgewater, Md. An Xcel Diamond Level gymnast who competes for 1st Class Gymnastics in Annapolis, Madison has impressed at the national and international levels. Among her career highlights are qualifying for the 2019 USA Gymnastics National Championships in the 12-18 Junior Elite Acro Trio event and earning a bronze medal in the All-Around at the 2019 Geneva International Acro Cup in Geneva, Switzerland. Another excellent student, she will pursue a double major in Psychology and Criminology.
    BRITTEN JOHNSON will be making a cross-country journey from her hometown of Eugene, Ore., where she is a senior at Marist Catholic High School. A Level 9 gymnast at Gymnastics Northwest in Eugene, Johnson was a three-time Oregon state gymnastics champion in the balance beam event and won a USAG state championship in floor exercise. A member of the National Honor Society at Marist Catholic, she plans to major in Biology at West Liberty.
    CHLOE PALMER is a senior at South River High School in East Edgewater, Md. A Level 10 Acrobatic Gymnast with International Elite Acrobatics and 1st Class Gymnastics in Annapolis. Chloe won back-to-back Maryland state championships with high score awards, claimed two straight Vegas Acro Cup titles and was selected as a USAG Future Stars Athlete after placing fourth in the 2017 and 2018 Nationals. She has yet to decide on her academic major at West Liberty.
    AVERY RAY will be making the 1,300-mile trip from Katy, Texas to WLU next fall after completing her senior year at Cinco Ranch High School. A Level 10 gymnast currently working out of the Stars Gymnastics Training Center in Houston, Avery has placed in multiple events at the Region 3 and Texas State Levels 9/10 Championships over the years. She plans to pursue a Nursing major on the hilltop.
    JACEY WAYBLE hails from Lore City, Ohio where she is a senior at Buckeye Trail High School. A multi-sport athlete with the Warriors, Jacey will bring eight years of competitive gymnastics experience with her when she arrives at WLU next fall. An outstanding student who will have completed an Associates of Science degree from Zane State University upon her high school graduation in the spring, she plans to major in Dental Hygiene.