Gopher Blue Team Finishes Off Title For Goucher Equestrian At ANRC Take It Forward Team Tournament Finale

BALTIMORE, Md. – . Noelle Gulley (Eldersburg, Md./Century) and Kristen Wilhelm (Columbia, Md./Liberty) each won an event to help the Goucher College equestrian Gophers Blue Team take first at the ANRC Take It Forward Team Tournament Finale. Goucher had two teams in the competition, and the Gophers Gold Team finished behind the Blue Team in the standings in second place.

Gulley won the open fences and finished second in the open flat while Wilheim won the novice flat. Jacob Connell (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) also completed with the Blue Team competitors and posted a second-place finish in the limit flat and a fourth-place standing in the limit fences.

Makaylin Shoop (Davidsonville, Md./South River) won the limit flat and placed third in the limit fences to fuel the Gold Team. Kellen Sullivan (Hampton, Va./Bethel) finished second in open fences and third in open flat while Lexi Mason (Lothian, Md./Southern) rounded out the Gold Team competitors by ending fifth in the novice flat.

The Gophers Blue Team won three out of the four competitions thanks to also coming out on top in the September Kickoff and the November Touchdown. The Gophers Gold Team earned a victory in the October Turnover to help the Goucher two teams sweep the four events.

The Top-10 teams from the three tournaments to start the year advanced to the Tournament Finale. Thanks to the two wins in the previous tournaments, the Gophers Blue Team went into the finale with a six-point advantage over the Gophers Gold Team and an eight-point advantage over Randolph-Macon. The Top-3 spots remained unchanged after the Tournament Finale with the Gophers Blue Team winning the event with 73 points while the Gophers Gold Team (62 points) and Randolph-Macon (55 points) finishing 2-3 in the competition. There was some movement in the final seven spots with St. Andrews Blue (37 points), Florida State Equestrian Club (31 points), University of the South (30 points), St. Andrews Blue (28 points), Virginia Tech Hokie (8 points), UVA Navy (8 points), UVA Orange (5 points) and  St. Andrews White (5 points) rounding out the competition. 

Unlike the previous three tournaments, the lowest score was not dropped in the final event scoring. Points in the Tournament Finale were added to the team cumulative score from the previous three tournaments to determine the winner. 

The ANRC Take it Forward College Team Tournament was a virtual team competition open to any college or university that offers a four-year or two-year degree program. A participating school may create one or more teams with students currently enrolled in their school. Each team competes in the following classifications: novice flat, limit flat, limit fences, open/intermediate flat, and open/intermediate fences.

In addition, several Goucher riders competed in an individual challenge called the ANRC Freestyle Challenge. Wilheim also participated in this event and finished first in the novice fences while Claire Edwards (Kailua, Hawaii/Le Jardin Academy) won both the introductory flat and introductory fences. Kaitlin Honkofsky (Baltimore, Md./Patapsco) was second in the introductory flat and Flannery Supplee (Monkton, Md./Hereford) was fourth in the novice flat.

Goucher is hopeful to be able to compete in live events through the IHSA and ANRC in the spring. Stay tuned to Goucher athletics for more information when it becomes available.