The February 25th Centenary show marked the first time Cyclone freshman Jessica Anselmo (left) won both of her classes and that Gary Zook (right) Co-Coached an IHSA team. Zook is Centenary's new Co-Head Coach, and the Cyclones won by a 42-31 score over Drew to make his debut a success.

CENTENARY WINS EIGHTEEN OF TWENTY-SEVEN CLASSES, PREVAILS IN FIRST REGION 1 SHOW OF 2006

Long Valley, NJ - Back in November, Stevens Institute hosted a show at Centenary College. Centenary, the Region 1 high point team for the past 16 consecutive seasons, scored only 21 points in their own facility that day, their lowest total on their own property this decade. Drew won that day with 37 points, cutting the cyclones' lead to only 13 points through five shows.

Following a tie with the USMA on November 20th, Centenary increased the lead over Drew to 19 headed into the first Region 1 show of calendar year 2006. Between the shows on November 20th and February 25th, Centenary hired a second Head Coach (or Co-Head Coach, if you will) in Gary Zook, an internationally renown trainer who took Ray Texel to the Medal and Maclay finals (with Texel winning both). Zook replaced Michael Dowling, who had stepped down from the postion prior to the start of the season to pursue his own ongoing business.

Zook and longtime Co-Head Coach Andrea Wells could see early on that Centenary would not repeat their previous performance in their own building. Andrea Davey won the first section of open fences (Davey was listed in the program as 'Angela Davey,' a nickname to avoid confusion with Coach Wells) while Holly Fatula made it two straight in the divison moments later. Ashley DiBongrazio then finished second to Pace's Amber Bauchner in the third section, but riders from teams other than Centenary would not win another undergradute class until after the lunch break.

Elizabeth Parent and Nicole Bensch swept the intermediate fences for the cyclones, who took the top two spots in each of these classes. The Novice looked like it would go the same way until Gary Hochman of Drew was reserve in section 4D, breaking a string of five classes in a row where Centenary took the top two placings. Jessica Anselmo, Kara Hertz, Christine Jordan and Rachel Samuels won the novice blue ribbons, giving Centenary eight of nine firsts over the jumps. More importantly, the cyclones' ability to have multiple riders take the top two spots blocked many other teams from getting more than four points in any one division in the early going.

Drews' Emily Serota (left) and Tori Frederick held the top two places in the final section of open flat. Frederick and teammate Kristine Kennedy (not pictured) gave the Rangers firsts in two of the open flat sections. Drew was reserve high point team at today's show.

After the fences were removed and everyone had a bite to eat the Cyclones remained strong though other schools won almost half of the flat classes. Defending Region 1 Champion open rider Kristine Kennedy of Drew won the first section of open flat, while DiBongrazio won the second. Kennedy continues to lead the Region 1 Cacchione/open rider standings by seven over DiBongrazio, as both scored 12 points at today's show. Drew teammates Tori Frederick and Emily Serota took the top two spots in the final section of open flat, a division in which the cyclones saw only two riders make the top three (Alison Cozine third in DiBongrazio's section).

Perhaps Centenary's greatest strength this season has been their domination of the intermediate division. Davey, a senior from Smithtown, Long Island, won the first section of intermediate flat while teammates Kelly Shepstone and Kendra Merrigan won the other two. Megan Plunkett and Leah Peterson, a pair of Sarah Lawrence riders, earned red ribbons in the first two sections while Meredith Mitchell of the Cyclones was second to Merrigan.

Courtney Lorah gave Stevens their first blue ribbon of the day in the first section of novice flat. Anselmo, a freshman from Gardner, New York, won the second section, joining teammate Davey with two blue ribbons each. Susie Nugent of Drew was a winner in the third novice flat section while Samuels, from Pennsville, New Jersey, made it three Cyclones with two first on this day by winning section 3D. Jordan then made it an all-Centenary-four-way ride-off, taking the fifth and final section of novice flat. It should be duly noted that Region 1 rarely ever has a ride-off, and with everyone involved coming from the same team, no ride-off was needed. Coach Wells later told this writer that Davey was the High Point Rider for the day, while Samuels earned the reserve. It is not clear exactly how this came to be.

The advanced walk-trot-canter division was another 'Blockfest' for Centenary. Jamie Jackson, Jen Dempsey and Melanie Verdesco swept the blue ribbons in this division for the Cyclones while teammates Heather Bowen, Victoria Eckert and Emily Messina took the red ribbons. The beginner walk-trot-division that followed would break Centenary's streak of five straight blue ribbons, as no Cyclone was enterred in the division. Lya Gardner of Drew earned the blue ribbon, while Jacqueline Davis of William Paterson earned the Pioneers' best ribbon of the day with a second.

Would she consider the Modern Pentathelon? Stevens Institute senior Valerie Barnhart (left, with Ducks Assistant Coach Alicea Amburn) made her IHSA debut in the walk-trot at today's show. Barnhart has been a member of the Stevens Lacrosse team, the Soccer Team and the Field Hockey Team before joining the Equestrian Team.

One of the entries in the first section of walk-trot had already conquered three sports before giving college riding a try. Last season, Valerie Barnhart of Stevens Institute had been on the Duck's 18th-ranked Soccer team and their 15th-ranked Lacrosse team (Both of these teams made the second round of the NCAA's). The Computer Science major who will graduate this spring also was an exceptional Field Hockey player for the Ducks. However today was Barnharts' IHSA debut, and her brand-new boots had only arrived yesterday. The fifth-year student from Gilbertsville, PA went on to place fifth, while Julia Freeman of Pace was the blue ribbon winner and Nate Band of Drew awarded the red. Though Barnhart had been a successful three-sport athlete, her teammate Suzanne D'Addio was the pointed Stevens walk-trot rider. The move paid off when D'Addio won the second of three sections of walk-trot, at least the third time this season D'Addio has won a class. Paces' Ina Yildiz was second. The final section of walk-trot, which was also the final class of today's show, went to Lene Baxter of the United States Military Academy. Her Army teammate Christin Browne was second, making walk-trot the only division where no Centenary rider placed higher than third. Nevertheless the Cyclones not only blocked points but even saw their pointed riders frequently earn blue ribbons. The end result was 42 points for Centenary and High Point Team honors for the day. Drew earned 31 while both Pace and Sarah Lawrence were half as successful as the hosts, earning 21. The USMA and Stevens tied for fourth with 20.

The Alumni classes both went to Drew graduate and Assistant Coach Sandy Sayre. Her first in alumni fences moved her six points ahead of 2005 Centenary graduate Amy Gregonis, who now trails 44-38. Sayre's first on the alumni flat coupled with a rare off-outing for Gregonis allowed the former to gain some ground in the flat race, now led by Gregonis 42-37. Both riders qualified for Regionals during the fall, and no one else has even gone over the 20-point plateau. College of Saint Elizabeth graduate Sara Temme had a good day however, earning a third on the flat and a fourth over fences. Temme now has 17 points on the flat and 18 over fences, giving her a fighting chance to get the 28 points needed in either division to advance to Regionals with three more shows now officially scheduled. Also in the ribbons were Virginia Tech graduate and Pace Head Coach Lisa Tomaselli with a second on the flat and a third over fences while Manhattanville alumni Lauren Napoli-Green was fourth in alumni flat, earning her first alumni points of the season.

Fact of the day: Drew junior Deanna Wallach spent the fall 2005 semester in London. She returned today and placed fifth in novice fences. Wallach needed only one point but received two, and is thus now qualified for Regionals on April 2nd.

What's next?: Though it was not set in stone until recently, Centenary will host another show a week from today on March 4th, then the entire region will co-host the next day at Briarwood. After that the schools get spring break off for good behavior, with one more show on Sunday the 26th at Hidden Pond Farm in Poughkeepsie, New York, the site of the Fall Marist show but this time hosted by the entire region. With Centenary now ahead by 30 points over Drew and 60 points over the USMA, the top two teams are probably going to hold those positions for the rest of the season. The Cacchione race remains interesting, with Kennedy still ahead of DiBongrazio by seven. The fact that Region 1 will get in ten shows helps many chase after points needed to go to Regionals. However some schools will hold back a rider, either so the rider points out early the following season or, in Centenary's case, so that rider may be used at Zones in the Team Competition. Though next season is a long way off, Stevens Head Coach Patti Zwaan is already planning for next year, indicating that their card might be full sometime in 2006-07 (Centenary, Drew, USMA, Sarah Lawrence and Vassar were the only teams with full cards at today's show). "The Ducks are in battle formation," said Zwaan.

---Steve Maxwell

Show Incidentals: Partly cloudy skies, windy, with a high temperature in the mid '40's. Start time: 9:12AM. Finish: 4:03PM - includes 43 minute lunch break/Coaches & Captains meeting. Point cards posted in this region? Yes. Alumni Classes held in this region? Yes. Judge: Rita Timpanaro, Smithtown, New York. Stewards: P. Cashman/United States Military Academy, Zwaan/Stevens Institute of Technology and Tomaselli/Pace University.

Hunter Seat Team Totals: Centenary College (High Point Team) 42; Drew University (Reserve) 31; Pace University 21; Sarah Lawrence College 21; United States Military Academy 20; Stevens Institute of Technology 20; Vassar College 16; State University of New York at New Paltz 9; William Paterson University 7; Marist College 4; Bard College 3; College of Saint Elizabeth 2 and Manhattanville College 1.

High Point Rider - Andrea Davey, Centenary College.
Reserve High Point Rider - Rachel Samuels, Centenary College.