Fresno State Athletics
'Dogs Headed to IHSA National Championships
5/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Equestrian
May. 2, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State will send 22 student-athletes to the IHSA National Championships in Sunbury, Ohio. The Bulldogs, which won Zone 8 in both English and Western competition, will be among the favored teams competing for national championships. Champions from all nine Zones from across the country will be competing. In all, 28 full teams will be represented at the IHSA National Championship. For more information about the IHSA National Championships, go to: www.ihsainc.com
About Last Year The Bulldog Western team placed second in the 2004 IHSA national championship show while the English team placed sixth. Kayla Merritt was the lone Bulldog with a first-place finish, winning the Intermediate Western Horsemanship event. Several Dogs earned second place awards, led by Michelle Tonello (Open Flat), Taylor Mason (AQHA Reining, NRHA Open Reining) and Stacey McCalmont (Beginning Western Horsemanship). Mason placed third in Open Western Horsemanship and Kristen Marchesi was third in Advanced Western Horsemanship. Tonello won the Sportsmanship Award.
Bulldogs Are 2005 Zone Champions The Bulldog Equestrian team swept the competition by winning the English and Western team competition at the IHSA Zone 8 Championships in Ridgeway, Ore. Four Bulldog riders claimed top honors in the English team competition, led by Tasha Lodwig in Equitation over Fences, Leyla Mundy in Intermediate Fences, Jacklyn Alewyn in Walk Trot Canter and Ashley Peterson in Walk Trot. Fresno State's depth was evident as four other riders placed in the top three in English team events. Anela Bird was second in Equitation over fences, Amy Simmons was second in Open Flat. Kristina Chancholo, in Novice Flat, and Becky LeGris, in Intermediate Flat, each placed third. Fresno State captured the Zone Western Championship for the second straight year. The Bulldogs had three first place finishers led by Jodie Stabbe in the Advanced Western Horsemanship, Sierra Daniels in Intermediate Western Horsemanship and Beth Knapp won the Open Western Horsemanship. Sara Barnes placed second in Open Reining, Kayla Merritt was second in Novice Western Horsemanship and Heather Billings was second in Beginning Western Horsemanship. The Zone 8 championship show was hosted by four teams from Region 4 of the Zone, Oregon State, Seattle University, Oregon, Washington and Western Washington. The top two performers from each of the individual events also automatically qualify for the national championship show.
Malmo Memo Quotes from head coach Becky Malmo: "We are taking championship English and Western teams from our Zone. The ladies have had some time off to reflect and sharper their skills after the Varsity championships. They have also been working hard getting caught up on their school work, so I would expect a peak performance. Being the national championships, it will be a challenge, but I believe we are mentally and physically ready for it. We have set some high goals. The Western team has an excellent chance to win the national championship. The only team to beat us this year is Texas A&M and they will be there, so I would expect a great performance. There are so many strong English programs in the East and we haven't seen eastern teams very much, so that will be challenging. We have the riders to compete with anyone in the country. We have a lot of parents going so we should have a great fan base there."
Bulldogs Continue Stellar Western Season Fresno State's dominance in Western Shows continued as the Dogs win In all, the Bulldogs have won 12 of their 16 shows in either English or Western disciplines. The Dogs won all but one Western show this season and were the reserve champions (second place) at the 2004 IHSA National Championship show.
Players Mentioned
