[1]Beau Bagley [1] Sports Anchor / Reporter
The New Mexico State equestrian team will head out to Waco, Texas, April 12-14 for the 2012 National Collegiate Equestrian Association National Championship, at the Extraco Events Center. The NM State Hunter Seat team was seeded No. 6 and will face Oklahoma State in the first round, while the Western team was seeded No. 9 and will take on Fresno State.
"I am very pleased on where the team has been seeded," head coach Audrey Buck said. "We have the ability to beat both Fresno in the western and Oklahoma State in hunter seat. Then next two weeks are going to be intense at practice, and we have a lot of things to do to get ready, but I am very confident that we will be prepared for nationals."
The Aggies finished the regular season with an 8-7 overall record and a 4-2 record at home. NM State lost to Oklahoma State once this season and twice to Fresno State as an entire team. The Hunter Seat team tied Oklahoma State, 5-5, while the Western team fell 7-3 in Fresno to begin the season and 6-2 in Las Cruces in the regular season finale.
“Our team has been putting the hard work it will take to be successful at this year’s national championships,” Buck said. “It is now up to us to go out and put solid riders together and show the rest of the equestrian world we belong among the nations best.”
Competing for the Western team in Waco, Texas will be Chelsea Campbell, Megan Gould, Stefanie Story, Tara Wilson, Jessica Woolsey, Lauren DeVoe, Clarissa Edgerton, Brynn Larson and Marissa Bartmann.
The Hunter Seat squad will be represented by Amy Lang, Laura Bostwick, Emily McConnell, Amber Tassel, Elizabeth Solomon, Stephanie Gershon, Ruby Jenkins, Hannah Swarthout, Brianna Raab, Sydney Morse and Erica Daniels.
Texas A&M is the No. 1 seed in the Western division, while Auburn is the top seed in Hunter Seat.
The National Collegiate Equestrian Association announced Wednesday the 2012 Academic All-American selections, as 10 NM State Equestrian riders earned the honor. The Aggies had five first team selections, two second team picks and three honorable mention honorees.
Six Hunter Seat riders and four Western riders from NM State were named Academic All-Americans.
Western riders Chelsea Campbell (Ag Economics and Ag Business), Tara Wilson (Elementary Education) and Stefanie Story (Elementary Education) earned first team honors, while Hunter Seat riders Stephanie Gershon (English) and Brianna Raab (Psychology) were also named first team honorees. Gershon was named an All-American by the NCEA earlier this month.
Hunter Seat riders Amy Lang (Animal Science) and Emily McConnell (Sociology), who were also named NCEA All-Americans landed on the Academic All-American second team list, while Western riders Jessica Woolsey (Sports Medicine/Athletic Training) and Hunter Seat competitors Laura Bostwick (General Business) and Hannah Swarthout (Animal Science) were named honorable mention Academic All-Americans.