Ford Breaks Air Rifle Record in Upset Win at No. 10 Army

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Sophomore Caitlyn Ford broke the NC State individual air rifle record to lead the 12^th-ranked Wolfpack to its second consecutive top-10 victory at No. 10 Army Monday afternoon inside the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center.

NC State fired a team score of 4653, the second highest in program history, to earn the win, while Army charted a team total of 4641. The Pack registered a 2347 in air rifle as a team and a 2306 score in smallbore. The Black Knights scored a 2344 in air rifle and 2297 in smallbore.

The Wolfpack improves to 18-3 overall and 5-2 in the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC), while the Black Knights fall to 2-7 and 1-5 in conference action.

Monday's win caps a #STATEment weekend for the Pack, as the squad took down No. 3 Kentucky on Sunday. Both wins were a first for NC State as a member of the GARC.

Miller's Minute
Opening statement…
"We've been saying how great our training has been for the past two weeks," said head coach Keith Miller. "We've been saying how we have a fantastic attitude of support, confidence and how this team is learning how to win, to excel, and to build on every success.

"In the past two matches, they've validated that on the range with a couple of spectacular performances!"

On Caitlyn Ford's performance…
"It was a thrill to watch her just stack those tens on top of each other. Her two-gun total of 1175 is a number that we didn't think she would reach this year, but she keeps learning and applying her new skills, and the results keep climbing. She has come so far and matured as shooter so much since last year. This young lady is really putting it together. We're all so proud of her."

Worth Noting
- Ford turned in a score of 596 in the air rifle competition to break the previous program record of 595 set by teammate Lucas Kozeniesky.
- The sophomore from Fairfax Station, Va., was dialed in throughout the match, firing a perfect score (100) on four consecutive air rifle relays.
- Kozeniesky also tallied a perfect score in an air rifle relay and two in smallbore.
- Freshman Cullen Wargo contributed a flawless score of 100 from the prone position in smallbore.

Inside the Match
- In addition to Ford's score, Kozeniesky finished closely behind in the air rifle competition with a mark of 592 to claim second place.
- Juniors Daniel Cliff and Alex martin fired totals of 580 and 579, respectively, while Derya Pekari rounded out the Pack's counting shooters with a tally of 574.

- Kozeniesky headlined the smallbore event with a score of 588 to secure first place.
- Ford was third with a 579 and Martin was sixth at 574.
- Rounding out the Wolfpack lineup was Pekari with a score of 565 and freshman William Marciniak, who recorded a 547 score.

- Kozeniesky and Ford recorded the top-two scores in aggregate total at 1180 and 1175, respectively.

Match Scores

	Smallbore	Air Rifle	Aggregate Total
Lucas Kozeniesky	588	592	1180
Caitlyn Ford	579	596**	1175
Alex Martin	574	579	1153
Daniel Cliff	561	580	1141
Derya Pekari	565	574	1139
Claire Spina	552	567	1119
William Marciniak	547	570	1117
Tyler Lefebvre	543	561	1104
Cullen Wargo	553	551	1104
George Williams	530	571	1101
Team Totals	2306	2347	4653

** Indicates Program Record

Up Next
NC State will return to action at the sixth South Eastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC) match Saturday, Jan. 23. The Citadel will host the event inside the Inuoye Marksmanship Center.

#STATEment

Ford Breaks Air Rifle Record in Upset Win at No. 10 Army

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Daniel Cliff

Caitlyn Ford

Lucas Kozeniesky

Tyler Lefebvre

Will Marciniak

Alex Martin

Derya Pekari

Claire Spina

Cullen Wargo

George Williams