Cowgirls Win Western Invitational

March 11, 2000

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Oklahoma State's equestrian team placed all three of its western teams in the top four as the Cowgirls won the Tournament of Champions Western Invitational this afternoon.

The black team placed first overall with 26 team points. The white team tied for second place with Ohio State with 21 points, and the orange team finished with 20 points and fourth place out of 18 schools.

"Any time you can compete in a national invitational, it helps you see what you need to be doing by the end of the year," head coach Larry Sanchez said. "We still have higher goals. We can still be better by the time we get to zones and nationals. This invitational prepares us to prepare for nationals."

"All of the girls rode really well. It seemed like OSU was consistently in the top five."

The Cowgirls were led by Allysa Allen, who was the overall champion in open horsemanship, as well as winning her section of the class. Nancy Perlich won her section of the open horsemanship class to compete with Allen for the championship.

Jenny Myles placed first in her section of beginning horsemanship, and Kristen Thomas received top honors in her section of the advanced horsemanship class.

Sarah Potter placed second in her section of the advanced horsemanship class, and Natalie Doss finished in second place in her section of the intermediate horsemanship class. Trista Armstrong placed second in her section of open reining, and Stacey Sullivan finished second in her section. Kim Cloud also added a second place finish in section B of advanced horsemanship.

Team Results

1. Oklahoma State Black 26

2. Oklahoma State White 21

Ohio State 21

4. Oklahoma State Orange 20

5. Middle Tennessee State 14

6. New Mexico State 13

Texas A&M 13