Newkirk signs full ride to UC Davis
Marauder joining Aggies equestrian team
It wasn’t the ordinary signing for the Porterville community, but Monache High School senior Stacey Newkirk signed her National Letter of Intent to ride for the University of California, Davis (UCD) equestrian team on a full-ride athletic scholarship.
Family, friends and former teachers were present Tuesday morning at the school for Newkirk’s official signing.
She was named the first recruit for the UCD equestrian team under a full-ride scholarship. The Aggies are an NCAA Division I program with Jessie Weisinger as their head coach.
“I’m proud of her. She worked hard for it and she deserves it,” said Monty Newkirk, Stacey’s father. “I hope she does her best and has a good time learning and building from every experience.”
Stacey’s head coach, Lance Johnston, has been coaching Stacey for more than five years and said she’s ready to compete at a high level.
“UC Davis is lucky to have her. She will be the best one there,” Johnston said. “Not only as a student, but as a competitor. They are going to be lucky to have her.”
Johnston also said Stacey has a lot of potential and is thankful to have pointed her the right direction.
“She is the best student I ever had,” John-
ston said. “I am going to miss her.”
Stacey said she visited other schools, but felt like she fit in at with UCD more, as well as loving their equestrian team.
“I’m super excited. I worked really hard for the past couple of years for it,” Stacey said. “I started with my first horse, his name was Cooper, and I currently use Fargo, my 5-yearold horse, which I will be competing with at UCD.”
Stacey’s journey getting into the equestrian team started one year ago by videotaping all she did and listing all her awards to submit to universities and getting in contact with coaches.
She currently has a 3.4 GPA and hopes to one day become a forensic psychologist. Her plan is to major in psychology at UCD, with the hopes to transfer somewhere else to study forensic science.
Dana Newkirk, Stacey’s mother, was full of joy and grateful to see her sign.
“It’s been her goal,” Dana said, adding that Stacey watched her older sisters do the same. “As parents, we provided our daughters these opportunity to learn, and now they travel everywhere at the school’s expense. That’s an experience I cannot give them.
“I am excited and glad that she is going to be in [California], because we couldn’t afford to fly everywhere and watch the other two compete all the time,” Dana said. “Now that Stacey will be closer to us, we will be able to participate more and be in on parent meetings.”
Stacey has two sisters, Haley and Kiley. Both of them ride for the New Mexico State University equestrian team.
“My mom rode when she was little, she got us into it,” Stacey said. “Everyone thought I would follow them, but I really wanted to branch out and do my own thing. My sisters are my biggest role model,s and I equally look up to them. They both definitely set a path for me to follow.”
“I am very proud of her,” Kiley said. “She is amazing.”
Stacey will start her collegiate athletic level this coming academic year.
“I hope I get to show as much as I can,” Stacey said. “l am looking forward to travel and being part of the team.”