Nov. 11, 2001

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Western half of the Kansas State women's equestrian team turned in a pair of third place finishes over the weekend at Texas A&M in the final two Western shows of the fall season.

K-State tallied 16 points on Saturday to finish third behind Oklahoma State (23 points) and Texas A&M (17 points). Three Wildcats led the way with first-place finishes in their classes. Sophomore Brandi Vogel finished first in Advanced II Horsemanship, while sophomore Megan Hemberger was the top rider in Intermediate I Horsemanship and junior Heather Hicks was first in Beginner Horsemanship.

Several other Wildcats placed in the top six of their respective classes including Kelly Gratny (5th in Reining, 4th in Open Horsemanship), Amanda Gigot (4th in Reining, 6th in Open Horsemanship), Darcy Ferguson (2nd in Advanced I Horsemanship), Jamie Buckley (6th in Open Horsemanship), Natalie Bennett (3rd in Intermediate II Horsemanship), Abby Oldridge (6th in Advanced II Horsemanship), Beth Jones (5th in Intermediate II Horsemanship), Jill Sump (2nd in Advanced II Horsemanship), Jessie Baldwin (6th in Advanced II Horsemanship), Haley Wilson (2nd in Beginner Horsemanship), Amber Fox (3rd in Beginner Horsemanship), Amber Everhart (2nd in Beginner Horsemanship) and Jessica Gittleman (5th in Beginner Horsemanship).

On Sunday, K-State again finished third, this time tied with West Texas A&M at 16 points apiece. Host Texas A&M led all teams with 19 points, and Oklahoma State was just behind the Aggies with 17. Gratny was K-State's lone first place finisher of the day, grabbing the top spot in Open Horsemanship and finishing sixth in Reining.

Eight other Wildcats placed in the top six of their classes including Caitlin Morrison (2nd in Advanced I Horsemanship), Ferguson (4th in Advanced I Horsemanship), Jones (2nd in Intermediate II Horsmanship), Vogel (4th in Advanced II Horsemanship), Haley Wilson (2nd in Beginner Horsemanship), Gittleman (3rd in Beginner Horsemanship), Hemberger (2nd in Intermediate I) and Beverly Wilson (5th in Intermediate I Horsemanship).

The English half of the K-State Equestrian team will open fall competition Nov. 17-18 with two shows at West Texas A&M. The Western team is off until Feb. 2-3 when the Western riders travel to Oklahoma State for a pair of shows.