MUNCIE, Ind. -- It came down to the competitor in the final event. Western Michigan was on vault and needed to surpass Ball State with a score of 49.200, WMU's season-best this year in the event. Freshman Hannah Milton led the Broncos off with a 9.775. Sophomore Abby Singh then hit a 9.875 on her vault, just what WMU needed. Fifth-year senior Payton Murphy went third and matched Singh's score. Momentum was building. Junior Cassie St. Clair was next and earned a 9.850. Two more Broncos left and both needed to score at least 9.800's to clear WMU's lowest score off. Senior Sarah Moravansky went fifth and earned a 9.800.
 
This was it. Up stepped junior Halle Faulkner to the runway. Faulkner, the 2022 MAC Vault Co-Champion, needed at least a score of 9.800 to tie the Cardinals and share the MAC Championship. The Canton, Mich., native took off down the runway, stuck the landing and earned a 9.850, besting the hosts by .50 and handing Western Michigan its first MAC Tournament Championship since 2013.
 
Three Broncos were also individual MAC Champions. Senior Amanda Gruber wrapped up her career with a MAC title on beam. Gruber scored a 9.900 and tied with five other competitors to be named co-champion. Senior Dani Petrousek and Junior Cassie St. Clair were MAC Co-Champions on floor after tying with scores of 9.900.
 
Floor was WMU's best event on the day, with the team combining for a 49.400. Along with Petrousek and St. Clair, Murphy and Ally Schaupp both earned scores of 9.875, while Donnakathryn Roy scored a 9.850.
 
Beam, the Broncos' second event of the day, was where they gained a lot of ground. WMU finished with a 49.050 for the top team score. Ball State had a 49.000 and Kent State finished with a 48.975. Kent's struggles on beam, bars and floor paved the way for Western Michigan's comeback. Along with Gruber's championship score,  Moravansky and Murphy both scored 9.850's on beam to boost the team, while freshman Hannah Milton had a 9.775.
 
Western Michigan started off on bars, with a 48.825. Petrousek was the team's top performer with a 9.825.
 
This is the first MAC Tournament Championship for head coach Penny Jernigan, who now adds the trophy to her two MAC Regular Season Championships.