WACO, TEXAS (NCEA/SMU) – The SMU equestrian team had 20 student-athletes named to the 2023 APHA All-Academic teams and the Academic Honor Roll, the NCEA announced Wednesday. 

Eight Mustangs – Lily Anderson, Alexa Black, Emma Engel, Chalyce Head, Hannah Hoch, Hensley Humphries, Augusta Iwasaki and Taylor Madden – were included on the NCEA's All-Academic First Team and Honor Roll.

Katy Merchant, Maria Richards and Taylor Zimmerman all earned All-Academic Second Team and Honor Roll, with Nya Kearns rounding out SMU's All-American selections as an Honorable Mention.

Eight more Mustangs – Reynolds Cole, Katherine Delagarza, Avery Erickson, Hailey Johns, Taylor Kraft, Elle Moreno, Macie Soderquist and Annabele Whitehead – earned spots on the NCEA's Academic Honor Roll.

To earn a first-team designation, riders must have competed in a minimum of 70 percent of their school's meets, not including demo or exhibition rides, and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 while maintaining full-time enrollment in the previous spring and fall semesters, respectively.

Second team honors requires competing in a minimum of 60 percent of meets, while maintaining a cumulative 3.25 GPA full-time enrolled through the previous spring and fall semesters. Honorable mention requires the rider having competed in 50 percent of meets while maintaining at least a 3.0.

Those who earned NCEA Academic Honor Roll recognition are the top student athletes who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.25 while maintaining full-time enrollment the previous two semesters.
The Mustangs are the No. 2 seed in the NCEA Championships, and will face No. 7 South Carolina on Apr. 18 at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida at 1:30 p.m. (CT).