Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Equestrian Beats Kansas State, Advances to Championship
March 29, 2008 | Cowgirl Equestrian
The Oklahoma State Equestrian team (10-4) defeated the Kansas State (6-7) in the first round of the Central Championships. The Cowgirls beat the Wildcats by a score of 8-7 in today's matchup.
The Central Championships are in place of a Big 12 championship. For the sport to get a sponsored Big 12 tournament there must be six participating teams.
In today's show against the third seeded Wildcats the second seeded Cowgirl's English team came through in full. They defeated the savvy Kansas State team by a 6-1 margin. In the equitation over fences discipline the Cowgirls won by a score of 3-1. Senior Bailey Mahoney led the way picking up a victory and a discipline high of 84. With her victory she also picked up here first of two MVPs in today's show. Along with Mahoney, sophomores Ally Blais and Jaclyn Osterstock both captured victories for the Cowgirls.
In the equitation on the flat category the Cowgirls picked up a 3-1 victory. In her second ride of the day, Mahoney picked up her second MVP of the tournament with a 72. Blais also picked up her second win of the day scoring a 70. Sophomore Sam Collingsworth earned the third point for the Cowgirls with a one point victory over her opponent.
The Western team found themselves on the short of a 6-2 defeat in the first round. Sophomore Ashley Koch picked up the lone victory for the Cowgirls in the horsemanship category. The other three competitors in this discipline for Oklahoma State lost by a combined margin of 4 points, showing the high caliber competition that was displayed on Saturday. Sophomore Leah Kuehn picked up the second victory for the western team in the reining category.
Head Coach Larry Sanchez said, “Kansas State competed at a high level today. Our girls had the rides that we needed today to win. We look forward to playing Baylor in the finals.”
The Cowgirls will move on to the Championships, which will be held tomorrow at 9 a.m. in Manhattan, Kansas. The Cowgirls will take on the Baylor Bears after their first round upset of the one seeded Texas A&M Aggies. The Cowgirls will have the same lineup as they did in the first round of the competition.
In the two shows against Baylor this year the Cowgirls have captured both victories. The first victory of 20-4 was in Stillwater, while a 12-8 victory came in Waco. This winner of this show will be declared the winner of the Central Championships.
