Petchell Earns Top Ten Finish at IHSA Semi-Finals

Albion sophomore Katie Petchell's (Pinckney/Pinckney) IHSA competition season came to a successful close on Saturday, March 26 when she netted a Top Ten finish at the IHSA Stock Seat Semi-Finals competition at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX.
The finalists await the results of the 2011 Semi-Finals reining class at Texas A&M University (Canyon, TX). Photo by Katie Petchell.

Out of the 14 riders from across the United States who competed in the Open/Reining portion of the Semi-Final competition, Petchell finished ninth.  Her placing was particularly noteworthy due to the challenging nature of the mount she drew for her ride.  Coach Denise Webber was proud of the way her student kept her cool despite the difficulties and the pressure of the situation.  She was also proud of the performance of all of her riders throughout the IHSA competition season; Petchell is the second rider in the relatively short history of Albion's stock seat program to advance into Semi-Final competition.

Petchell too was positive about the experience.  She remarked, "Now that I've had a taste of Semis and I know what to expect, I'm more than ready to get next season started so I can qualify again."