Here’s the latest news from Middle Tennessee State University.
Stock horse fields
Competing at the end of the semester at the American Stock Horse Association Collegiate and National Show in Sweetwater, Texas – and for the first time in Division 1 – MTSU’s stock horse team beat Texas Tech University to win the national title.
In a 10-team field of teams from across the country, MTSU riders won the Division 2 National Reserve Champion title at the Hughes Ranch Traders National Intercollegiate Ranch and the Stock Horse National Championship in Amarillo, TX. MTSU also received a $1,000 marketing package for its ranch horse program.
Eight MTSU students competed in the AHSA event held at the Nolan County Coliseum in Sweetwater, Texas, winning eight individual national awards and the coveted national title. Events included Cow Horse, Fun, Reining and Trail.
A year ago, the Raiders finished fourth overall in Division 2 but won 10 combined championship and runners-up awards.
The event sponsored by Hughes Ranch Trailers featured 115 runners from 14 colleges and universities in seven states. MTSU carried six runners to this event, each competing for individual prize money as well as National Champion and Reserve Champion honors.
Notable individual global awards included:
• Taylor Meek, a recent graduate and equestrian science major from Murfreesboro, winning eighth place overall in the non-professional limited all-around division.
• JoBeth Scarlett, a junior animal science student from New Market, Tennessee, placed ninth overall in the non-professional limited all-around division.
Other team members include Rachel Petree, Louann Braunwalder, Kara Brown, and Savannah Glinstra.
Barry Goldwater Scholarship
Yaseen Ginnab of Nashville, a rising senior at MTSU, was awarded a prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Fellowship to further his research and this summer he is spending three months in Nova Scotia, helping with a Fulbright Canada project.
This follows a National Science Foundation REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) at Central Michigan University last summer and work in the joint lab of Bailey and biology professor Ryan Otter. last fall, assisting MTSU graduate students in two labs.
The Fulbright-MITACS Globalink is for U.S. students interested in traveling to Canada to undertake advanced research projects in their area of interest. Ginnab has applied and interviewed for seven internships. He was paired with his professor and biologist Gavin Kernaghan of Mount Saint Vincent University, documenting a fungus in the forest — plus a lab component, Ginnab said.
The Goldwater Prize provides funding of up to $7,500 per year to cover tuition after other scholarships.
After finally graduating from MTSU, Ginnab wants to pursue a master’s and doctoral degree.
Contact reporter Nancy DeGennaro at degennaro@dnj.com. Keep up with restaurant news by joining Good Eats in the ‘Boro (and beyond) on Facebook and follow Murfreesboro Eats on TikTok.