Three of the six that qualified will make their first appearance at Regionals
Hanson |
McConville |
Kotfila |
Scibek |
Solar |
McCutcheon |
EASTON, Massachusetts (March 27, 2019) – Six members of the Stonehill College equestrian team have qualified for the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Zone 1, Region 4 Championships, which will take place on Saturday, March 30 at Holly Hill Farm in Hanover, Massachusetts hosted by Boston University.
Stonehill capped the regular season with its 10th regional title, winning the region by 22 points after three-straight first-place finishes as a team. Leading the region, the Skyhawks will now prepare for IHSA Zone 1 Championships which are scheduled for Saturday, April 6 at the Equestrian Center in South Hadley, Massachusetts hosted by Mount Holyoke College.
This is the second-straight year that Equestrian has sent six riders to Zone 1, Region 4 Championships to compete. Last season Abigail Westerlind '18 and Baylee Kimbar '18 made their second appearance at the regional competition, while juniors Mariah Hanson, Emma McConville, and Kaitlin Kotfila and sophomore Madison Roberts rode in their first Championship.
This year, Hanson, Kotfila, and McConville will return for their second-straight appearance in Regionals, while senior Rachel Scibek, junior Laura Solar, and sophomore Molly McCutcheon will show in their first Championship.
Hanson will return as the reserve champion in novice fences at regionals where she made her first appearance at Zone 1 Championships and took home sixth, while this season she has qualified in novice flat and intermediate fences. The junior earned seven blue ribbons this season, four in novice flat and three in intermediate fences, bringing her career total to 13. This season Hanson also was named High Point Rider twice this season, once at Stonehill's Home Show in October and once at the Bentley University show in early November.
McConville returns to Regionals as the open flat champion and this season she has qualified for open fences. Along with Hanson, McConville made her first appearance at Zone 1 Championships, where she placed third overall in open flat. This season, McConville totaled four first-place ribbons, including two high point rider awards, one at the Brandeis University show and most recently, at the Point Show last weekend, bringing her career total to 12 blue ribbons.
Last year Kotfila was the reserve champion in intermediate flat at Zone 1, Region 4 Championships, and this year she returns to compete in intermediate fences for her second appearance at Regionals. In her first show this season, the junior posted a fourth-place finish in intermediate fences at the Brandeis University show where she qualified for regionals. In the remainder of the season, Kotfila competed in open flat and open fences earning two second-place ribbons and one third-place mark. Last season in intermediate flat, she totaled two blue ribbons.
Scibek qualified for novice fences in her first show this season after a earning a first-place ribbon at Boston College. The senior also competed in intermediate fences this season, finishing fourth at the Point Show last weekend. Last season, the Colchester, Vermont native totaled four second-place ribbons and her first-career blue ribbon in novice fences.
The Skyhawks will see a fourth junior compete this weekend in Solar, as she qualified to ride in novice flat during her first show of the season. Solar placed first in novice fences and fourth in novice flat at the Brandeis University show. In her career, Solar has totaled six first-place ribbons, with two of them in novice flat. After qualifying for novice flat, the Melville, New York native competed in intermediate flat and novice fences the rest of the season.
In the second to last show of the season, hosted by Endicott College, sophomore McCutcheon took home first place in walk-trot-canter which qualified her for her first Regional Championship. McCutcheon has totaled three first-place ribbons in her two years of riding in the IHSA with two of them this season.
Stonehill finished on top of the region at the conclusion of the regular season and the team will compete at Zone 1 Championships on Saturday, April 6 at the Equestrian Center in South Hadley, Massachusetts, hosted by Mount Holyoke College. The top two ribbon winners at the Zone 1, Region 4 Championships from each of the events at Holly Hill Farm in Hanover, Massachusetts will advance to the IHSA Zone 1 Championships.
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