Minnesota Crookston Equestrian Qualifies Six for IHSA Regional Championships; Advance Four to IHSA Invitational

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FARGO, N.D. – The University of Minnesota Crookston western equestrian team wrapped up the 2020-21 regular-season with a two-day show at North Dakota State University March 26 and 27 and the IHSA Regional Championships Sunday, March 28. The Golden Eagles were Reserve High Point Champion Friday led by Olivia Becker earning High Point Rider. Saturday, UMN Crookston again claimed Reserve High Point Team guided by Jordyn Newberg (Sr., Deer River, Minn.) claiming Reserve High Point Rider honors. On Sunday, Minnesota Crookston was led by Tristyn Bair (Jr., Winnebago, Minn.) placing first in Level I Horsemanship. Bair, Newberg, Rebecca Clark (So., Austin, Minn.), and Beatrice Streifel (Jr., Hawley, Minn.) will represent the Golden Eagles in the IHSA Invitational in May.

The Golden Eagles started Friday out on a strong note with Becker taking first place in Reining section one, while April Klecker (Jr., Amboy, Minn.) took third, and Alyssa Evavold (Sr.,  Battle Lake, Minn.) fifth. In section two of Reining, Adrianne Schaunaman (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D.) placed first, while Rae Ann Michel (Sr., Monticello, Minn.) placed second, followed by Newberg claiming fifth.

In Ranch Riding, Bair led the way for the Golden Eagles Friday by taking third.

In Open Horsemanship, Becker continued a good day of competition by placing third in section one, while Schaunaman claimed fourth, and Klecker sixth. In section two of Open Horsemanship Evavold put together a great ride to place first, while Newberg took third, and Michel fourth.

In Level II Horsemanship, Bair rocked her ride and took first in section one. Streifel placed fourth in section two.

In Level I Horsemanship, Fahren Kolpack (So., Ontanagon, Mich.) placed sixth.

In section one of Rookie B Horsemanship, Savanna Weber (Jr., Silver Lake, Minn.) placed third, while Clark took fourth. In section two of Rookie B Horsemanship, Zoey Haas (Fr., Farmington, Minn.) had a strong ride to place first, while Ally Eblen (Fr., Belgrade, Minn.) claimed sixth.

UMN Crookston looked to build on Friday’s performance going into Saturday. Klecker started out section one of Reining on a great note by taking first, followed by Schaunaman in second, and Michel in third.

The Golden Eagles continued their success into section two, as Newberg picked up another win for UMN Crookston. Becker followed in third, followed by Evavold in fifth.

In Ranch Riding, Streifel placed third, while Bair took sixth.

In section one of Open Horsemanship, Becker led the way for the Golden Eagles by placing third, while Klecker placed fifth, and Michel took sixth. In section two, Evavold had a good ride to take second, with Schaunaman placing third, and Newberg fourth.

In section one of Level II Horsemanship, Streifel had a great ride to place second. In section two, Bair had a great ride to take first.

In Level I Horsemanship, Kolpack had a second-place finish.

In section one of Rookie B Horsemanship, Haas took third, while Clark claimed fourth-place. In section two, Eblen placed second, followed by Weber in sixth.

In Rookie A Horsemanship, Grace Meyers (So., Fairmont, Minn.) had a strong ride to take second.

In Beginner Horsemanship, Kayley Silva (Fr., Courtland, Minn.) had a great ride to place first in section one, while Jenna Pedrow (Fr., Blaine, Minn.) placed second in section two.

The Golden Eagles qualified six riders for the IHSA Championships going into Sunday in Fargo, N.D. Bair led the way with her first-place finish in Level I Horsemanship to qualify for the IHSA Invitational. Streifel took third in Level I Horsemanship to advance along with Bair. Newberg had a strong ride to take second in Open Reining and move on to the IHSA Invitational, while Clark took third in Rookie B Horsemanship to advance.

Kolpack and Meyers also had great seasons and qualified for the IHSA Regional Championships. Kolpack placed fifth in Rookie B Horsemanship, while Meyers took sixth.

The Golden Eagles had another strong season in the IHSA and will look to continue to build on their successes heading into the 2021-22 season.