Stonehill Qualifies for IHSA Nationals
Skyhawks qualify as a team
for first time since 2003 National Championship
Four Skyhawks also qualify as individuals for event in Lexington,
Ky.
Kelsey Hill | 
Quinn Traendly | 
Christine Dwyer | 
Nina Crossley |
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (April 12, 2010) – The regional champion Stonehill College equestrian team has earned a spot at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championships for the first time in seven years following a second-place team finish at the IHSA Zone 1 Championships, hosted by Mount Holyoke College, at the Mount Holyoke Equestrian Center this weekend.
Stonehill, along with Zone 1 Champions and host Mount Holyoke, will compete with the top two teams from each of the IHSA’s nine zones at the National Championships at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., May 6-9. Stonehill totaled 38 points, just nine shy of Zone Champions Mount Holyoke and ahead of third place Brown University (34 points) and fourth-place University of Vermont (32). It marks Stonehill’s first trip to the Nationals since it captured the 2008 IHSA National Championship.
In addition to qualifying as a team, Stonehill will send a program-record four student-athletes to compete for individual National Championships in Lexington next month. Senior Quinn Traendly (Hope Valley, R.I./Chariho Regional) leads the list of national qualifiers with her first place finish for Open Equitation Over Fences. It marks the second time Traendley has qualified for nationals. Sophomore Nina Crossley (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J./Northern Highlands Regional) qualified with a first-place finish for Walk-Trot Equitation on the Flat and will make her first appearance at nationals. Sophomore Christine Dwyer (Louisville, Ky./Kentucky Country Day) placed first for Novice Equitation on the Flat to earn her first nationals appearance, while senior Kelsey Hill (Dover-Foxcroft, Maine/Foxcroft Academy) will make her second-straight nationals appearance after placing second for Intermediate Equitation on the Flat.
Leading Stonehill in the
team competition were:
Senior Rachel Foster (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex
Regional) placed second for Intermediate Equitation Over
Fences as well as Novice Equitation on the Flat.
Junior Alisha Wielgoszinski (Amherst, N.H./Brewster Academy) placed second in Walk-Trot Equitation on the Flat.
Junior Kayla Schneider (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) placed second for Open Equitation on the Flat.
Freshman Martina Tramontozzi (Melrose, Mass./Melrose) placed second for Novice Equitation Over Fences and Novice Equitation on the Flat.
Freshman Emily Dolan (Lacrosse, Wis./Aquinas) placed second for Intermediate Equitation on the Flat.
Traendly placed third in Open Equitation Over Fences.
Crossley placed third in Walk-Trot-Canter Equitation on the Flat.