Brackets Announced for 2018 NCEA National Championships 

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Brackets Announced for 2018 NCEA National Championships 

WACO, Texas – The brackets have officially been released for the 2018 National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championships April 18-21 at the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas. Minnesota Crookston will compete in the NCEA National Championships for the first time in school history as this is their first season as a full-fledged member of the NCEA.

“We are very excited to compete at the NCEA National Championships April 18-21,” said Head Coach Kayla Krueger. “We have tough draws against Auburn and Oklahoma State, two great equestrian programs, but we are excited to see what we are able to do against some great competition.”

The Golden Eagles will not compete for the team championship, but will compete for the individual events titles for Equitation over Fences, Equitation on the Flat, Reining and Horsemanship. Minnesota Crookston is sending 10 riders to the National Championships April 18-21. Each discipline has five riders who will compete against other institutions in the bracket format. The team that wins the individual match based on how the five riders perform against their competitors designated rider, will advance to the next round of competition.

Minnesota Crookston is the 14th seed in the Reining. They will compete against Auburn University in the opening round. The winner moves on to compete against the winner of Baylor University and University of Tennessee-Martin. The U of M Crookston will be represented in the reining by Katie Warner (Sr., Warba, Minn.), Katelynn Robertson (Sr., Roseau, Minn.) Madeline Drayna (So., Milaca, Minn.), Whitney Fenna (Jr. Foley, Minn.) and EmmaRae Nelson (So., Thief River Falls, Minn.)

The Golden Eagles are the 13th seed in Horsemanship. They will face-off with Oklahoma State University in the first round. The winner moves to take the victor of Texas Christian University versus Delaware State University. The U of M Crookston will be represented in horsemanship by Warner, Robertson, Drayna, Fenna and Nelson.

Minnesota Crookston is the 15th seed in Equitation on the Flat. They will take on No. 2 seed Auburn in the opening round. The winner advances to face the winner of TCU and University of South Carolina. The U of M Crookston is sending Monika Frame (Sr., Polson, Mont.), Mazie Pini (Jr., Grayslake, Ill.), Selena Young (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.), Megan Motter (Jr., Cooperstown, N.D.) and Rachel Johnson (Fr., Stillwater, Minn.) to compete.

The Golden Eagles are the 14th seed in Equitation over Fences. They will compete against Auburn. The winner moves on to face the winner of South Carolina and Baylor. Minnesota Crookston will be represented by Frame, Pini, Young, Motter and Johnson in Equitation over Fences.

The NCEA Championships have representatives from the following schools: Texas A&M, UT Martin, Fresno State, SMU, Delaware State, Oklahoma State, South Dakota State, Georgia, West Texas A&M, TCU, Sweet Briar, Auburn, Minnesota Crookston, South Carolina and Baylor.