LONG VALLEY, N.J. – Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College kicked off its slate of national championship shows last weekend at the American National Riding Commission Intercollegiate Championship, hosted by Centenary (N.J.) College. The Wasps took Reserve Champion honors in the National Division and finished eighth in the Novice Division.
In National Division competition, all five Emory & Henry riders finished in the top 15 individually with senior Bailey Halverson (Concord, N.C.) earning Reserve High-Point Rider accolades. Junior Nick Martino (Bel Air, Md.) was sixth while senior Morgan Sollenberger (Concord, N.C.) finished seventh. Senior Karissa Donohue (Benson, N.C.) posted a 10th-place finish and senior Emily McBee (Cartersville, Ga.) was 13th overall.
Halverson, Sollenberger and McBee made up the compliment of E&H's team while Donohue and Martino competed as individuals.
The competition, which was broken down into four phases, began with a Written Phase on Thursday. Emory & Henry won the phase and McBee was the individual champion. Sollenberger was fourth, Halverson was sixth and Donohue was 10th in the competition.
The Program Ride was contested on Saturday with E&H finishing third. Halverson was fourth while Martino posted a ninth-place finish.
On Sunday, the Wasps kicked off the day with a win in the Derby Phase. Sollenberger led the way with a reserve champion finish while Halverson was sixth, Donohue was eighth and Martino was ninth. The Medal Phase concluded competition, and Emory & Henry solidified its reserve-champion finish with by placing third in the phase. Sollenberger took fifth while Martino and Halverson were eighth and 10th, respectively.
Centenary College was named the team champion in the National Division while Centenary's Cody Wooten was the individual champion.
Emory & Henry entered a team of two riders in the Novice Division and posted an eighth-place finish. Sophomore Billie Henard (Kingsport, Tenn.) was 15th overall while senior Megan Wilson-Bost (Glouster, Va.) finished 25th, and despite sustaining an injury early in the weekend, returned to compete.
The Wasps started off with a fifth-place finish in the Written Phase with Wilson-Bost taking seventh. The Program Ride saw E&H place fifth again with Wilson-Bost coming in fifth as an individual.
In the Derby Phase, Emory & Henry finished ninth, with only one scoring rider, but the team bounced back with a sixth-place finish in the Medal Phase. Henard was 10th in the phase to lead the Wasps.
Savannah College of Art & Design claimed the championship in the Novice Division with three of the top four riders. Quinn Lowski led the Bees for the individual championship.
---E&H---