Merkison joined the Tornado staff in the fall of 2017 and has grown the Tornado into a perennial top 10 program. King reached their highest ranking of fourth in 2021 as the Tornado set a school record for wins in a season with six. That season, King won the inaugural Conference Carolinas regular season championship and won three Conference Carolinas Event Finals Championships. The Tornado broke the mark for wins in a season with eight in 2022.

Year-By-Year Coaching Records

Athlete Honors

• 3 NCATA All-America selections
• 3 NCATA All-Academic selections
• 50 NCATA Academic Honor Roll honorees
• 4 NCATA Freshman of the Week
• 1 NCATA Specialist of the Week
• 2 NCATA honorable mention Specialist of the Week
• 3 NCATA honorable mention athlete of the Week
• 3 NCATA honorable mention freshman of the Week
• 4 Conference Carolinas Athletes of the Week
• 1 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Month
• 1 Conference Carolinas Athlete of the Year
• 1 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year
• 16 All-Conference Carolinas Selections
• 16 Academic All-Conference Carolinas honorees
• 14 Academic All-ECAC honorees
• 2 ECAC Freshman of the Year
• 6 All-ECAC selections
• 3 All-ECAC honorable mention honoree
• 7 Academic All-ECAC honorees
• 3 ECAC Athletes of the Week
• 1 ECAC Specialist of the Week
• 3 ECAC Freshman of the Week

King Highlights

• 1 Conference Carolinas regular season title
• 1 Conference Carolinas Tournament runner-up finish
• 3 Conference Carolinas Event Finals championships
• School record with 8 wins in a season (2022)
• Earned first career win on March 14, 2018, in a 245.735-240.265 win over Concordia University Wisconsin
• First 3-0 start in program history in 2019
• King Pride Awards Coach of the Year in 2021
• Perfect 10.00 scores in two events, both coming in 2021
• King Pride Awards 2020-21 Female Team of the Year

Year-By-Year Season Recaps

2022: The Tornado posted an 8-2 overall record, going 7-1 in Conference Carolinas meets to finish second in the standings. However, the Tornado fell to third seed Converse in a Conference Carolinas Acrobatics & Tumbling Championship semifinal. King took a pair of runner-up finishes and one third place finish in the Conference Carolinas Event Finals. The Tornado set a school record with a score of 9.90 in the compulsory pyramid. Claire Guittard was selected NCATA All-America and first team All-Conference Carolinas. Lindsay Bowles also earned first team all-conference honors while Hannah O'Dea and Alyssa Talabac garnered second team honors.

2021: The season was a banner year for the Tornado as they reached their highest NCATA ranking of fourth. King started the year 6-0 and went 4-0 in Conference Carolinas play to take home the inaugural regular season title. King also hosted the first-ever Conference Carolinas Acrobatics & Tumbling Championships, finishing runner-up and taking home three event finals championships. Catherine Reynolds was selected Conference Carolinas Athlete of the Year and NCATA All-America while Alexis Wynn garnered Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year honors. Including Reynolds and Wynn, King had nine individuals earn All-Conference Carolinas honors.

2020: The season was canceled on March 12 due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Prior to that, King participated in two meets, topping 10th-ranked Limestone in the season-opener before defeating Belmont Abbey. The three Tornado seniors were selected All-Conference Carolinas following the cancellation of the season.

2019: King won their first three meets, marking the first time in program history. The Tornado defeated #9 Alderson Broaddus in the season-opener, their first win over the Battlers in program history. King then dropped three straight meets to teams ranked in the top five in the NCATA poll. The Tornado set five program records, including four in the tumbling event. Ashley Berlin qualified for the NCATA event finals for the second straight year, finishing fifth in the open pass. She also garnered All-America honors.

2018: The Tornado were shorthanded all season with injuries, but came out with one victory and a pair of program highs. Ashley Berlin finished second at the NCATA Event Finals in the tumbling six element pass with a program record score of 9.850. Moira Lyons was selected ECAC Freshman of the Year and was joined on the All-ECAC team by Maya Fuller and Berlin. Abigail Keith earned honorable mention All-ECAC recognition.

Prior to King

In 2016, Merkison instructed students from ages 3-18 in tumbling and acrobatic skills at Cheer Extreme Chattanooga. She also taught and choreographed cheerleading routines for teams and classes while at Cheer Extreme Chattanooga.

Personal

As a student-athlete at Oregon, Merkison helped the Ducks to three National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) national titles. She was a member of four teams that competed at the NCATA National Championships, taking home three team titles and six event finals championships. Merkison was a top and tumbler for the Ducks from 2012-15.

While at Oregon, Merkison competed for head coach Felecia Mulkey who is now at Baylor University. Along with competing for Mulkey, Merkison also worked at summer camps, helping create scheduled and instruct athletes to improve their skills.

Quotable

"Miranda is passionate about the sport of acrobatics and tumbling and the opportunities that it provides for young women," Baylor Head Coach Felecia Mulkey said. "As an athlete, she led by example with her work ethic and her selfless commitment to the success of the team. These characteristics will translate into a great coach and role model for the student-athletes at King University"