Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Equestrian Wins Central Championships , Best in the Big 12
March 31, 2008 | Cowgirl Equestrian
Two seeded Oklahoma State (11-4) beat fourth seeded Baylor today to claim their position as the best team in the Big 12. The Cowgirls did this by capturing a victory in the Central Championships. The Cowgirls defeated Kansas State on Saturday to claim a finals bid. In today's matchup with the Bears the Cowgirls dominated by a score of 10-5 to win the championship.
Although the Big 12 doesn't have enough teams, six, to qualify for a Big 12 sponsored tournament, the Central Championships acted as just that, with the winner being declared the Big 12 Champion.
The Cowgirls got to check another goal off of their preseason goal sheet. They wanted to be the best team in the Big 12, and Sunday they did just that. They can add this accomplishment to their already long list, including: beating the defending national champion, South Carolina, on the road and going undefeated at home this season.
In other action in the Central Championship the Kansas State Wildcats claimed third place after upsetting the one seeded Texas A&M Aggies in the third place show. Kansas State lost to the Cowgirls in the first round, while the Aggies were taken down by the Bears.
In today's victory the English team came through again winning both disciplines 3-1, and capturing an overall 6-2 win. In equitation over fences seniors Natalie Chappell and Bailey Mahoney, along with sophomore Ally Blais all picked up victories on the day. Blais picked up her third win in just two days, capturing wins in both equitation over fences and equitation on the flat in the first round.
For the equitation on the flat discipline senior Bailey Mahoney captured her fourth victory in two days, winning in both English categories both days. Along with Mahoney, juniors Sarah Summers and Sam Collingsworth also captured victories on the day. Collingsworth captured the MVP in this discipline, along with victories both days in this discipline.
The Western team squeaked by the Bears by a score of 4-3. In their championship win the Cowgirls won the reining discipline 3-1. Junior Jacque Roberts led the way for the Cowgirls winning the MVP for this discipline on the day. Along with Roberts, sophomores Molly Tipton and Leah Kuehn also captured victories on the day. Kuehn picked up her second win for the weekend, winning in the same discipline in the first round. For the second day in a row sophomore Ashley Koch picked up the lone victory in the horsemanship category in their 2-1 defeat.
The Cowgirls will be in action next when they try to win a National Championship at the Varsity Equestrian National Championship on April 17th-19th in Waco, Texas.
