Cowgirl equestrians handle Fresno State
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State’s sixth-ranked equestrian team claimed an impressive 12-7 victory against Fresno State on Friday at the Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center.
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State’s sixth-ranked equestrian team claimed an impressive 12-7 victory against Fresno State on Friday at the Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center.
With the win, the Cowgirls improved to 2-3 overall and 2-1 against Big 12 Conference opponents on the year. Fresno State dropped to 0-5 and 0-3 in the league.
OSU showcased one of its most complete meets of the season, claiming the team advantage in three of the four events and splitting flat. OSU outscored Fresno State in every event and swept the MOP awards. The last time the Cowgirls outscored an opponent in every event was against Baylor at the 2022 Big 12 Championship.
The meet started with horsemanship and fences, with the Cowgirls claiming the team advantage in both.
Sydney North led the way in fences, putting forth the highest score of the day with an 86 to beat her opponent by 11 points. She earned her first MOP of the season and the fifth of her career with her performance.
Paige Jones opened the scoring with a career-high 85 points. She hit her previous best score, 82, three times before breaking through with her new best against the Bulldogs.
Bella Holway and Riley Hogan were the other two scorers for the Cowgirls, putting up 83 and 78 points, respectively. Holway improved to 3-1-1 on the season, while Hogan improved to 4-1 in Fences.
In total, the Cowgirls outscored the Bulldogs by 28 points in the team score and averaged more than an eightpoint gap in winning rides.
In horsemanship, the Cowgirls came away with a 3-2 advantage in the team scoring.
Maddie Fussell and Claire McDowall earned their respective team-leading fourth wins in the event on the season and are tied for the most team points earned in the western discipline.
Once again, Fussell highlighted the day with her event-high 76.5-point ride and MOP performance. The Horsemanship captain has been undefeated since the first meet of the season and is 4-1 overall. After earning her first career MOP in the last meet against Texas A&M, Fussell claimed the title for the second time in as many meets.
June Roberson and McDowall were the other two scorers in the event, with both scoring 74.5. Roberson beat her opponent by five points to earn her second win of the season, while McDowall claimed the final point in the event to secure the advantage for the Cowgirls.
After a brief intermission, the meet continued with flat and reining.
The Cowgirls claimed the first three points in reining. First-year competitors Abby Budd and Emma Filiatreau won their respective third rides of the season, with Filiatreau earning the highest score in the event with a 71.5.
Quincee Clark came away with the MOP after a tight 69.569 win over Hannah Hieber. It’s Clark’s second MOP of the season and fifth of her career.
In flat, Ella Reinauer put forth a career-best ride, scoring 91 points and claiming the second MOP of her career. It’s the highest score in Flat among active Cowgirls and propelled OSU over Fresno State in the team points category.
Hogan scored the other point in flat, winning 83-77 in her second ride of the day. Hogan has been the winner of her last four rides from both fences and flat and improves her overall record to 7-2-1.
Grace McReynolds tied with her opponent Taylor Holstead, 86-86, to keep Fresno State without a team advantage in any event on the day.
After a bye-week, the Cowgirls head east to face South Carolina and Georgia for a dual-meet weekend Nov. 1718.
