Meet Notes: NCEA Championship

Wednesday, April 17

Waco, TX

TBA

Oklahoma State University

NCEA National Championships

April 12, 2019 | Cowgirl Equestrian

Meet Notes
The Basics
The fourth-ranked Cowgirl equestrian team travels to Waco, Texas, for the NCEA National Championships from April 17-20 at the Extraco Events Center.

About The Cowgirls
The Cowgirls (7-6, 2-2 Big 12) are led by 20th-year head coach Larry Sanchez, fourth-year assistant coach Jenna Blumer, fourth-year assistant coach Sammy Elser and second-year director of operations Kate Pollard. Carly Barrick also joined the staff as a first-year graduate assistant.

About The Mustangs
The Mustangs are 9-4 on the year and 5-0 in UEC competition. They also won their second-straight UEC Championship. Three Hunter Seat riders from SMU earned Ariat All-American honors — Vivian Yowan, Nora Gray and Devin Seek.

OSU's History At The NCEA Championship
• OSU has won one NCEA national title and five western titles.
• Last season, OSU fell to TCU in the first round of team compeition, 10-5.
• OSU's Fences team fell to Auburn in raw scores, 677-658, in the Fences National Championship last season.

The Series
• OSU currently holds a 10-2 all-time advantage over SMU, including a 13-7 win over the Mustangs in Stillwater in February.

Who To Watch For
• Abigail Brayman: A returning All-American in Flat, Brayman has won her past five Flat matchups, including MOP honors at the Big 12 Championship for Flat and Fences. Brayman also holds a 8-4-1 record in Fences with four MOP honors.
• Stephanie Helsen: A sophomore who has won nine of her past ten matchups in Reining, including an MOP against South Dakota State. Helsen has not lost by more than one point this season.
• Harley Huff: A two-time All-American in Horsemanship who went 6-1 in OSU's seven road meets, five of which were against top-10 opponents. Last season, Huff collected a team-high eight MOPs.
• Hannah Janson: A junior who has won five of her past seven Fences matchups and four of her past six Flat matchups.
• Hannah Mitchell: A team captain recently named NCEA Reining Rider of the Month for March. Mitchell is a three-time All-American who is 8-4-1 in the Reining arena with four MOPs. In 2017, she was the NCEA Reining Rider of the Year.
• Sarah Miller: A team captain recently named NCEA Horsemanship Rider of the Month for March. Miller has won 10 of her past 11 matchups. Miller earned an MOP for her season-high 76.5 against South Dakota State on March 2.

All-Americans
Oklahoma State equestrian had five riders named 2019 NCEA Ariat All-Americans.
Three Cowgirls – Harley Huff, Sarah Miller and Hannah Mitchell – landed spots on the NCEA All-American Second Team, while Emma Verplank and Stephanie Helsen garnered honorable mention status. The Horsemanship team led OSU with three selections.
Huff added to her already impressive Horsemanship resume with a second-team All-America honor. This is the sophomore's second All-America selection as last season she was a first-team honoree.
Huff was a road warrior this season, going 6-1 in meets away from Stillwater. She also led the Big 12 with eight wins.
Joining Huff on the second team is Miller. The senior team captain went 7-3-1 in the regular season with one MOP and never scored below a 71.5. Miller was also the NCEA Horsemanship Rider of the Month for March.
Verplank completed the OSU trio of Horsemanship riders, earning honorable mention honors. The junior went 5-2-1 with one MOP in the regular season.
Mitchell and Helsen represented OSU's second-ranked Reining squad with their standout performances this season.
Mitchell earned NCEA All-America Second Team accolades after collecting three MOPs and going 7-3-1 in the Reining arena this season. The junior was the NCEA Reining Rider of the Year in 2017 as a freshman and has collected All-America honors three years in a row. Mitchell was also the NCEA Reining Rider of the Month for March and October.
A sophomore, Helsen went 8-3 with one MOP en route to honorable mention honors for the second-straight season. Her eight wins led the OSU Reining team.