ATHENS, Ga. After strong performances from senior Casey Finnell, junior Lindsey Salsbury and freshman Morgan Campbell, the Kansas State equestrian team took home first place in both Western and English styles in the afternoon competition in Athens, Ga., at the Bulldog Invitational.

In the morning head-to-head match-up against the host school the University of Georgia, K-State tied in Western 4-4 and then lost to the Bulldogs 5-3 in English, and fell to Georgia overall by a score of 9-7. Points were awarded to each team after winning a head-to-head match-up.

“In English, I thought Casey Finnell did a terrific job on the flats especially with Whitney Snyder only losing her match by one point we kept the competition really close,” head coach Teresa Slough said. “When you face the host school in a format that we were not very familiar with and one that they see all the time it’s tough. But overall we did a good job.”

In the afternoon session, K-State competed in a new format in which Wildcats were teamed up in a head-to-head competition with riders from both Baylor and Georgia and even competed against fellow Wildcats for the first time. In English, K-State won 4-2 and took home the Western title 6-2, finishing with an overall record of 10-4.

“We were really happy with the performance of Morgan Campbell on the Western side,” Slough said. "Also Leslie Yates performed really well, along with Lindsey Salsbury especially in the reigning category."

The action will wrap up Sunday at 9 a.m. as the Cats take on the Baylor Bears. If K-State defeats Baylor they will face the University of Georgia again for the weekend’s championship. A loss to the Bears will earn the Wildcats a third place finish.

Results from Sunday’s show will be available online at kstatesports.com as they become available.

MORNING RESULTS

Western

Horsemanship: (UGA) 69.5 vs. Lindsey Salsbury (KSU) 67.5

                         Jana Lechtenberg (KSU) 71 vs. (UGA) 69.5

                         (UGA) 70.5 vs. Sara Weller (KSU) 69

                         Laura Browne (KSU) 70 vs. (UGA) 69.5

Reining: (UGA) 71.5 vs. Sara Weller (KSU) 68.5

               Lindsey Salsbury (KSU) 72.5 vs. (UGA) 70.5

               (UGA) 73.5 vs. Becky Abramovitz (KSU) 68

               Morgan Campbell (KSU) vs. (UGA) 68.5

Total: KSU 4

          UGA 4                 

English

Fences: (UGA) 70 vs. Casey Finnell (KSU) 68

              Kendall Marvin (KSU) 73 vs. (UGA) 63

              Whitney Snyder (KSU) 81 vs. (UGA) 77

               (UGA) 79 vs. Leslie Yates (KSU) 65

Flats: (UGA) 83 vs. Jennifer Giraldin (KSU) 71

           Casey Finnell (KSU) 85 vs. (UGA) 80

           (UGA) 86 vs. Leslie Yates (KSU) 79

           (UGA) 62 vs. Whitney Snyder (KSU) 61

Total: UGA 5

           KSU 3

Morning Total: UGA 9

                        KSU 7

AFTERNOON RESULTS             

Western

Horsemanship: Lindsey Salsbury (KSU) 72 vs. (UGA) 69.5

                           Jana Lechtenberg (KSU) 70.5 vs. Josie Kness (KSU) 67.5

                           Laura Browne (KSU) 68.5 vs. Sarah Coomes (KSU) 64.5

                           (UGA) 72 vs. Sara Weller (KSU) 70.5

Reining: Sara Weller (KSU) vs. Dennon Zimbelmann (KSU) 0

              (UGA) 65.5 vs. Becky Abramovitz (KSU) 61.5

               Lindsey Salsbury (KSU) 71.5 vs. (UGA) 68.5

              Morgan Campbell (KSU) vs. Dana Johnson (KSU) 66

Total: KSU 6

          UGA 2   

English

Fences: Casey Finnell (KSU) 73 vs. (UGA) 35

             Ashley Collett (KSU) vs. Kendall Marvin (KSU) 77

             Whitney Snyder (KSU) 73 vs. (UGA) 73

             Leslie Yates (KSU) 80 vs. Christine Fosnacht (KSU) 76

Flat: Leslie Yates (KSU) 85 vs. Stephanie Bell (KSU) 77

        (UGA) 81 vs. Jennifer Giraldin (KSU) 56

        Casey Finnell (KSU) 64 vs. (UGA) 0

        Whitney Snyder (KSU) vs. Jessica Walters (KSU) 79

Total: KSU 4

          UGA 2

Afternoon Total: KSU 10

                           UGA 4

-kstatesports.com-