December - Wingspan

32WingspansportsDecember 6, 2010wingspan.lccc.wy.eduEagles sitting pretty after slow startPhotos by Seneca FlowersReigning in regionals:Sophomore Emily Graham rides in the Laramie CountyCommunity College equestrian meet Nov. 6–7 in Cheyenne.Graham qualified for Western regionals, which will be held March13 in Cheyenne.Team finishes first in final fall meetBy Cody TuckerSports EditorWith a long winter layoff coming forthe Laramie County CommunityCollege equestrian team, they madea big statement in the final weekend of the fallseason, finishing with a first- andsecond-place finishes as a teamat the University of NebraskaWestern show on Nov. 20 inLincoln, Neb.After a slow start to the 2010season, the Golden Eaglesfound themselves in the secondtier in Zone 7, Region 1 ofthe Intercollegiate Horse ShowAssociation.After a second-place showingin both days of their home meetNov. 6–7, LCCC slowly started toclimb back into the upper echelonof the region, a place wherehead coach Lanae Koons is usedto seeing her team.“I started out the year with a young team,”“I amconfidentthat ourteam willcontinue toimprove.”Lanae KoonsHead EquestrianCoachKoons said. “It took us a lot of practice, but I feelwe are on the same page now and ready to bemore competitive.”For the third straight meet, German-bornAnna Eberth continued to dominate the region,capturing a first-place finish in beginner horsemanshipin both shows. Eberth also had firstplacefinishes in Colby, Kan., on Oct. 16–17, andat the Golden Eagles home show. Coach Koonsis very pleased with her newcomer.“(Eberth) has really impressed me,” Koonssaid. “She has never ridden Western before, andonce she understood, she has won ever since.The goal was to get her qualified for Westernregionals before the end of the semester, and wedid it.”LCCC also saw yet another strong showingfrom the “veteran” Emily Graham. The Oroville,Wash., native finished with a first- and fourthplacefinishes in open reigning and continuedto impress in the 2010 campaign, assuring herselfa spot at regionals March 13 in Cheyenne.“I feel like I am really where I need to be,”Graham said. “Although I qualified for regionalsthis weekend, I really need to work on my reigning.It’s not at the top level yet.”It was the Colorado natives,however, who made the mostnoise in the final Western meetof the fall semester with LeahSantillanes, Annie Hoag andKayla Fisk all having big weekendsfor the Golden Eagles.Santillanes, of Loveland,finished first and third overall inthe novice horsemanship competitionwith Fisk, a Parker native,coming in with two second-placefinishes in advanced horsemanship.Hoag, a native of Windsor,also had a second-place finish inintermediate horsemanship.“I qualified for regionals,”Hoag said. “That was a big dealfor me goal-wise. I am really excited for nextsemester. It has been a good year for me and forthe team.”Other team members who placed were JamieJohnson, Elizabeth Harris, Krista Quint, JordanMatthews, Travis Anderson, Sara Eggert, TrishaDahlke, Katie Briggs and Vicki Cherry.“It kind of took us a while to pull thingstogether as a team,” Graham said. “Things reallycame together for us this past weekend.”Koons is also ready to get started and maketheir march up the region standings.“We will keep practicing hard and keepworking on our team building skills,” Koonssaid. “I am confident that our team will continueto improve.”The Golden Eagles will return to action onFeb. 5–6, when they compete in the ColoradoCollege Hunt Show in Colorado Springs, Colo.