WACO, Texas – Texas A&M equestrian won the NCEA Reining National Championship, edging out Auburn in a 2-2 (562.5-562) raw score tiebreaker Saturday at the Extraco Events Center.
The Aggies dominated the Reining Championship after outscoring their opponents 11-4 with a pair of 3-1 victories over Fresno State and SMU, a 3-0 sweep over South Carolina and a final 2-2 tiebreaker win against the Tigers.
“I’m really proud of the team today,” head coach Tana McKay said. “They are a resilient group. They had some highs and lows and went through a lot this week. They worked together as a group, and it showed in the arena. We had a tough spring semester, but they came out here and nailed it. They nailed it as a group, and that is the most exciting thing. It was a group effort. One of the best group efforts I’ve seen in a long time. I am so proud of them.”
Madison Bohman went 3-1 during the Reining championship after defeating Auburn’s Alexa Rivard, 144.5-144, to secure the first point of the finals. After the Tigers tied the score at 1-1, Ashton Dunkel tallied her third victory in the event championship by outscoring Betsy Brown, 144.5-137.5.
The Tigers forced the tiebreaker, but the Aggies narrowly dropped Auburn by half a point due to Kalee McCann‘s 138 and Darby Gardner‘s 135.5 for a team total of 562.5.
For her efforts, McCann was named the event’s Most Outstanding Player.
To learn more about the Aggie equestrian team, log onto 12thman.com or follow @AggieEquestrian on Twitter.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics