April 27, 2004

CONYERS, GA - Members of the Sacred Heart Equestrian team rode to a team best 3rd place National finish at the 3rd annual Varsity Equestrian Championship. Hosted by the University of Georgia, Auburn University and the U. of SC, this competition featured 12 of the nation's top Division 1 & 2 NCAA declared Varsity Equestrian Programs.

The Sacred Heart squad that traveled to GA consisted of Juniors Emily Grayson and Kate Janczak along with freshmen Catherine Coyle, Lauren Pierce and Jessica Reynolds. For Grayson & Janczak this marked their second appearance at the season ending competition. The team was accompanied by coaches Justin Gregory & Alysia Cantelmo.

Friday saw the start of the competition and all Equitation on the Flat classes. Janczak was the first SHU rider to compete. Well into the class, a re-ride issue for another competitor forced show management to re-start the class. Janczak handled the situation well and successfully completed the class. In line-up, Kate was called back on top to test. A spook before the final aspect of the test set Kate back to a 4th place finish. The 4th place finish put 3 points on the team score card and was a strong start to the competition.

Next to compete was Emily Grayson. Emily's strength this season has come on the flat, and the VEC was no different. Following the completion of her section, Emily was also called back on top to test. A flawless test assured Grayson of the win. To her credit, Grayson became SHU's first National Champion in team history.

Lauren Pierce was the first SHU rider to compete following the lunch break. A break in the canter kept her out of the ribbons.

Jessica Reynolds closed out the Friday flat classes for the team. In her first National competition, Reynolds earned a Reserve Finish after completing a successful flat class.

By day's end, the team was in a three way tie for third place with ten points.

Saturday the show started up at 9 am with Equitation over Fences. Janczak was again slated to compete first for Sacred Heart. A flawless trip on a perfect draw put Kate on top of her class. With a score of 169, Janczak was again called back on top to test. This time, the test involved switching horses and Kate earned her first NCAA national finish, and the 2nd in team history. Her score of 169 would stand as a competition high score until the 3rd section of fences. At day's end, Janczak could claim to have the competition's 2nd highest score over fences and the distinction of being the only hunt seat rider (out of 60 competitors) to be called back on top in both of her classes.

Grayson was next to return to the ring. A score of 138 was good enough for an 8th place finish.

Pierce again opened the afternoon session for the team. A solid trip over fences earned her a score of 150. Show management opted to test only the top 4 riders which left Pierce locked into 5th place. However, for her efforts, she contributed 2 points to the team total. This was Pierce's first ribbon at the national level.

Catherine Coyle waited almost two days for her opportunity to compete. After warming up her draw, she continued into the ring where she put in her best collegiate performance to date. With a score of 149, Coyle earned herself a reserve finish in her first national level outing.

With 19 points at day's end, the team would have to wait for the testing of the final four riders to know the outcome of the English competition. A 2nd place finish by the OSU rider in section D of Equitation over Fences assured Sacred Heart of their 3rd place finish.

For the coaching staff, this competition included many firsts as well. This marks the first time a team has come to a national competition and recorded multiple wins. The team trains at Fox Ridge Farm in Newtown, CT with SHU Alumnus and farm owner Justin Gregory.

Throughout the competition, only host UGA could claim to have riders, in successive classes called back on top to test. In addition, while UGA led the English competitions with class wins (3), SHU and U. of SC were close behind with 2 wins apiece. SHU will return all of the weekend's starters next season where they will look to improve on their team finish.