Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Western Team Notches Second at IHSA National Championships
April 03, 2003 | Cowgirl Equestrian
"It's nice to be in the top two in placing, but it's still frustrating," head coach Larry Sanchez said. "It's also good to add another Reserve National Champion team to the years I have coached, but second place is a little short of our original plan."
In the race for the national champion on the Western side, Ohio State used a first-place finish in Open Horsemanship to share the team title with Texas A&M. OSU entered the last event tied with the University of Findlay for a share of the lead. The Cowgirls then fell to second after they finished sixth in Open Horsemanship.
On the Hunter side, Ohio University claimed the title with a 27-point showing, while Cazenovia College finished second with 22 points. OSU chipped in nine points for a seventh-place finish.
On Saturday, the Cowgirls had three riders capture top-10 finishes, including Ulrich's national title.
Laura Brawdy finished second in Walk-Trot, while Emily Hoaglan competed individually in Walk-Trot, finishing seventh.
Ulrich, the Fairview, Okla., native competed in three shows for the Cowgirls. She recorded a third-place showing at Kansas State, second at the Tournament of Champions and turned in a first-place finish at zones.
"We are very proud of the girls and how they did," Sanchez said. "The girls are happy to finish in the top-eight in both Western and Hunter."
Sunday, OSU had two riders take home top-10 finishes with senior Kate Hayes leading the way with fourth in Advanced Horsemanship, while Crissy Meeks finished sixth in Open Horsemanship.
OSU ended the season with an individual national champion, an individual zone champion and three individual regional champions. It also captured the regional and zone team championship and a team title at the Tournament of Champions.
