Auburn Wins SEC Championship, Baylor Wins Big 12 Championship
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 1 Auburn equestrian team checked another goal off its list for the 2018-19 season Saturday afternoon. The Tigers bested Texas A&M, 11-6, to win the program’s second Southeastern Conference championship.
“This is such an exciting time for the Auburn Tigers,” head coach Greg Williams said. “We’ve set our sights on this the last couple years and it feels really good to bring this title back home to Auburn. The competition in the SEC is just the best and if you can win here, you can anywhere in the country. All four teams are capable of winning the national championship so this is really special.”
With the win, the Tigers moved to 15-0 on the season and have their sights now on the national crown.
“It feels great to accomplish one of our goals that we’ve set for this year,” senior Ashton Alexander said. “Coming together as a whole team really helped us be a stellar team this weekend.”
“We really wanted to win it for our seniors,” sophomore Taylor Searles added. “This is such a great team and we’ve really been riding as one all year.
Alexander and classmate Caitlin Boyle were named to the SEC All-Championship team for their performances in Flat and Fences, respectively.
Auburn opened up the two-day championship Friday with a 13-7 win over South Carolina to advance to Saturday’s title match. The league meet was held on the campus of Texas A&M at the Hildebrand Equine Complex.
The Tigers kicked off the day with a 4-1 victory in Equitation Over Fences. Alexander put together a 213-120 win before freshman Emma Kurtz edged Grace Boston, 251-248. Boyle, who broke the program’s career wins record in the event yesterday, added another win to her weekend with 268 points. Classmate Hayley Iannotti closed things out with a 225 for the victory.
Horsemanship rode to a 2-2 tie with the Aggies, helping the Tigers go into the half with a 6-3 lead. Searles opened up the event with a beautiful ride, scoring 219.5 points in her win. Junior Kara Kaufmann tied her opponent, 215.5-215.5, and senior Lauren Diaz improved to 13-2 on the season with a 218.5-212 victory. The win gave Diaz her team-leading seventh MOP of the year.
The Tigers secured the team victory in Equitation on the Flat, finishing with a 3-0 mark over TAMU. Alexander had a huge ride for the squad, scoring 267 points in her win. Freshman McKayla Langmeier continued her undefeated streak in the event with a 225-212 victory and sophomore Taylor St. Jacques wowed the judges with her ride to score a match-best 272. That awarded the Glen Allen, Va., product her seventh MOP in the event this season.
Helping the Tigers seal the team win was a pair of ties in Flat from seniors Iannotti and Boyle. Iannotti and TAMU’s Rhian Murphy each earned a 239, while Boyle and her opponent finished in a 238-238 draw.
Auburn got two bonus points in Reining from sophomores Terri-June Granger and Deanna Green. Granger, a Dothan, Ala., product bested Marissa Harrell, 209.5-206 to start the event. Green capped things off with a 208.5-202.5 win over Ashton Dunkel.
STILLWATER, Okla. – Top-seeded and No. 4 Baylor equestrian (9-4) edged host and No. 3 Oklahoma State to claim its fourth Big 12 title in program history Saturday at Totusek Arena in Stillwater, Okla.
The top-seeded Bears went 2-0 over the weekend and ultimately won the tiebreaker score of 4,408 to 4,012.8 after being tied 10-10 after the meet. It’s the second title in three seasons but the first under second-year head coach Casie Maxwell.
The Bears kept it close in equitation over fences but the Cowgirls took a 3-2 win. Michelle Mallett (132 on Casanova) and Madison Day (160 on Ginger) each collected points for the Bears.
BU took horsemanship by a 3-2 margin and tied it up 5-5 at the half. Kaylee Mellott’s 146 on Cash, Kacie Scharf’s 144 on Bob and Abbi Demel’s 144.5 on Cupid helped BU in western.
Oklahoma State took a 3-2 win on equitation on the flat where Grace Thiel (148 on Ethon) and Rachael Davis (156 on Tony) took wins, but the Bears would win 3-2 in reining to take the meet.
Madaline Callaway (136 on Slash), Sydney Scheckel (133 on Diesel) and Maggie Cincotta (136 on Smooch) each collected points against the Cowgirls. After a re-ride was granted to Carly Salter on Hannah, OSU claimed that point and tied up the meet at 10-10. Ultimately, the raw scores helped separate Baylor from the Cowgirls for the victory.
Abbi Demel was named the horsemanship Most Outstanding Performer.
At the conclusion of the meet, six Bears were awarded a league-best seven postseason honors. Madison Day was named the Equitation over Fences Rider of the Year and earned All-Big 12 honors in fences and equitation on the flat. Grace Thiel was named Equitation on the Flat Rider of the Year and was also named to the all-conference team. Sydney Scheckel made it three ‘Of the Year’ honors when she was named the Reining Rider of the Year while earning league recognition.
The Bears swept the All-Big 12 flat team with Thiel, Day, Caroline Weaver and Rachael Davis while Demel earned all-conference recognition in horsemanship.
