2018 Female Athlete of the Year Finalist: Laska Anderson (Equestrian)

Laska Anderson is just a sophomore, but she’s quickly become a team leader and has proven herself a hard worker on and off a horse. She’s a Western rider, competing in horsemanship. They compete with a base starting score of 70 and can earn additional points based on performance, with the ultimate goal being a perfect 100. At the end of the competition, judges choose a Most Outsanding Player (MOP), which doesn’t have to be the rider with the highest score.

Anderson competed in 10 meets as a freshman. She had 5 wins and 5 losses for the season. She also earned 2 MOPs. Anderson had a season-high 75.5 against Oklahoma State, and a regular season average of 71.75. She was named to the 2017 All-Big 12 Rookie Team.

But it was the 2017-2018 season that fully showcased Anderson’s talents. She had a high score of 79 points, which came against Baylor. She averaged 74.25 points for the season. Anderson’s season ended with 17 wins over 21 meets. She had 2 losses and 2 ties, with 4 MOPs. She was named to the 1st Team Academic All-Big 12 team and the 1st Tean Farnam NCEA team with a 4.0 GPA. She was a recipient of the Elite Equestrian Award at the NCEA Championships, which is awarded to the rider with the highest GPA. She was also named NCEA Horsemanship Rider of the Year. In March 2018, she was also named Scholar Athlete of the Month for TCU, with a 3-0 record that month, including going 2-0 at the Big 12 Championships against Oklahoma State and Baylor.

As an English and history double-major, Anderson has displayed hard work and dedication to both academics and her sport. We wish her the best in her junior season and are happy to have her as a Finalist for 2018 Female Athlete of the Year.