SDSU ADVANCES TO ECAC FINALS WITH ONE-POINT WIN

Friday, March 27

Harrington, Del.

10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT

South Dakota State University

UT Martin

Adisyn Kuxhaus competes in the reining event while riding Bullitt during competition early in the 2025-26 season at the DeHaan Equestrian Center.

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

3/27/2026 7:38:00 PM | Equestrian

HARRINGTON, Del. — South Dakota State earned its first-ever berth in the finals of the ECAC Equestrian Championship with a 10-9 victory over third-seeded UT Martin during semifinal action Friday at Quillen Arena on the Delaware State Fairgrounds.

The second-seeded Jackrabbits improved to 6-7 overall in head-to-head competitions this season. SDSU also avenged losses to UT Martin in the semifinal round of the league tournament each of the last three seasons. The two squads previously split their regular season matchups this season.

SDSU will face top-seeded UC Davis in the championship round at 9 a.m. Eastern Time (8 a.m. Central) on Saturday. UC Davis defeated host and fourth-seeded Delaware State, 10-9, in Friday's other semifinal.

The Jackrabbits recorded their biggest advantage in flat, winning four of the five matchups contested, with all four of the victorious SDSU riders scoring 80 or more points. Senior Juliana Gullo was awarded Most Outstanding Performer honors in the event after tallying an average of 88 points from the two-judge panel (87-89) for her winning ride on Cali.

Other winners for SDSU in flat were Sierra Elliott (80.5 average), Kayla Scherer (80) and Heidi White (80).

Gullo added a victory in fences, posting an average of 80.5 with scores of 84 and 77 to edge UT Martin's Kat DeGenova by two points. Isabelle Malick also was victorious in fences for SDSU, taking home MOP honors with an event-high average of 87 (88-86) aboard Simon.

SDSU picked up two points in each of the Western events, including another MOP performance from Adisyn Kuxhaus in reining. A senior from Pierre, Kuxhaus finished with an average of 67 points (67.5-66.5) to get past the Skyhawks' Elise Mason with 64.75 points on Thor.

Maryn Mead earned the other reining point for SDSU with a final score of 68 on Wally.

In horsemanship, Anna Minich (73.5) and Hannah Dutton (73.25) came through with point-producing rides for the Jackrabbits. Grace Gerbus (68.5-71) tied with UTM's Ruby Gunderson with an average of 69.75 aboard Maverick.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 10, UT MARTIN 9
Fences
Juliana Gullo (SDSU) def. Kat DeGenova (UTM), 80.5-78.5 [Frank}
Averey Pritchard (UTM) def. Heidi White (SDSU), 77.5-74.5 [Elton]
*Isabelle Malick (SDSU) def. Kate Mills (UTM), 87-83.5 [Simon]
Audrey Morris (UTM) def. Sarah Gould (SDSU), 83-82 [Sully]
Caroline Krier (UTM) def. Kendyl Rudolf (SDSU), 84.5-69 [Cooper]
Flat
Kate Mills (UTM) def. Isabelle Malick (SDSU), 83-79.5 [Carl]
*Juliana Gullo (SDSU) def. Kat DeGenova (UTM), 88-68.5 [Cali]
Heidi White (SDSU) def. Lydia Jordan (UTM), 80-74 [Sandaro]
Sierra Elliott (SDSU) def. Shelby Davis (UTM), 80.5-69 [Tito]
Kayla Scherer (SDSU) def. Camille Panuwat (UTM), 80-71.5 [Casper]
Horsemanship
Olivia Wynn (UTM) def. Avery Bergan (SDSU), 73.5-68 [Ella Mae]
*Ava Glenn (UTM) def. Hailey Hanson (SDSU), 73-72.25 [Delta]
Grace Gerbus (SDSU) tied Ruby Gunderson (UTM), 69.75-69.75 [Maverick]
Hannah Dutton (SDSU) def. Ava Newsome (UTM), 73.25-65.5 [Phil]
Anna Minich (SDSU) def. Kailyn Veale (UTM), 73.5-68.5 [Cinch]
Reining
Stevie Brown (UTM) def. Lillie Wallis (SDSU), 66-62.25 [Tully]
*Adisyn Kuxhaus (SDSU) def. Elise Mason (UTM), 67-64.75 [Thor]
Payton Bundy (UTM) def. Hailey Hanson (SDSU), 63.25-61 [Baby]
Maryn Mead (SDSU) def. Abby Tibbits (UTM), 68-0 [Wally]
Claire Carpenter (UTM) def. Emma Riggs (SDSU), 66.75-57.5 [Julip]
Notes: Scores based on average from two-judge panel;
* denotes Most Outstanding Performer (MOP);
Horses' names in brackets

-GoJacks.com-