Fresno State Athletics
Equestrian Travels to Nationals
5/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
May 4, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. -
Bulldogs On the Road to Nationals
Both the English and Western teams will be travelling to the IHSA National Finals this week. The show will be hosted in Conyers, Ga. on May 3-6 this year. The English team will be the sole representative of Zone 8, which encompasses the 6 western states, while the Western team will be one of three teams from Zone 8.
Fresno State in the 2000 National Finals
The Bulldogs were unable to compete at the team-level at the finals in Macon, Ga. last year. The `Dogs did have some strong individual finishes, tallying 3 top-10 finishes in English Events. Junior Sarah Woodward (Fresno, Calif.) also finished 15th in the Cacchione Cup finals. Five of the eight riders that competed in the show last year will return to fight for Fresno State this year.
Equestrian Athletes Honored
The Bulldog equestrian team posted the most athletes of any sports to be honored at the 2001 Kiwanis Torch of Excellence Dinner for academic excellence. The event is an annual dinner hosted by the central valley Kiwanis clubs to honor Fresno State athletes for excelling outside of their sports and in the classroom. This year, 53 equestrian athletes are being honored at this event.
McQueen Scores Individual Honors
Junior Kendra McQueen (Stockdale, Calif.) claimed the Regional Reserve Champion Western rider. McQueen cemented her place for the honor this weekend in the IHSA Regional Finals. McQueen won two third-place finishes in the Open Western Horsemanship and the Open Reining Pattern. McQueen has been a strong backbone for the Western team and will continue to do so in the Zone and National Finals.
`Dogs Score Strong at Zone Finals
The Bulldog English and Western teams have cemented their places in the National Finals after claiming the Champion and Reserve Champion honors respectively at the Zone 8 finals this week at BYU. The English team won champion honors and will be the sole representative of Zone 8, which is the 6 western states. Top English finishes were claimed by junior Sarah Woodward in the Open, junior Katey Feeley (Goleta, Calif.) in the Open Flat and senior Kim Dellar (Coarsegold, Calif.) in the Intermediate Flat. The Western team will go to nationals along with two other teams. The Bulldogs finished as Reserve Champions with 25 points following Southern Idaho who scored 30. Top Western finishes came from senior Willow Wakeland (Stockton, Calif.) in the Intermediate Stock Seat, senior Kalli Bowles (Elk Grove, Calif.) who got second in the Advanced Stock Seat and Kendra McQueen who grabbed two third-place finishes in the Open Rail and Reining.
NEXT ACTION May3-6, Thu.-Sun. IHSA National Finals Conyers, Ga. 8 a.m.
LAST ACTION Apr. 7, Sat. IHSA Zone Finals Provo, Utah High Point/Reserve Mar. 24-25, Sat.-Sun. IHSA Regional Finals Fresno Ind
