Friday, March 11
Akron - Akron, Ohio
All Day
NC State
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NCAA Championships
Ford, Kozeniesky Place Top 10 in Air Rifle at NCAA Championships
3/12/2016 4:52:00 PM | Rifle
NC State was the only program with more than one shooter in the finals
AKRON, Ohio – Caitlyn Ford and Lucas Kozeniesky of the NC State rifle team both placed among the top 10 in the air rifle competition at the NCAA Championships held inside the Stile Field House. Kozeniesky finished fifth, while Ford ended seventh.
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NC State was the only program to have more than one shooter in the air rifle finals, as only the top eight in the preliminaries earns a spot in the finals session.
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"First, I'm so proud of Caitlyn and Lucas for their excellent performances at their first NCAAs," said head coach Keith Miller. "It's not uncommon for shooters in their first championships to falter a bit, but these two focused on their individual processes just like they did all year. The outcome of that focus was three-for-three top 10 performances.
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"That is a wonderful accomplishment and reinforces the right way to accomplish great things. Lucas led all competitors in qualifying score today with a 596, which is his personal best and ties Caitlyn for the school record air rifle score. To shoot a personal best and school record in your first NCAAs is quite an accomplishment. When you factor in that this was Lucas' fourth match in the last two weeks - with one being in Thailand, it's even more impressive.
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"Overall these two have made a tremendous Statement for themselves and our university. A lot of people are paying close attention to us now, and this will reinforce the fact that we are in the process of building a strong program. Today was awesome, and it's a great step forward to an even brighter future."
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Kozeniesky, junior from Fairfax Station, Va., fired the highest score of the day in the preliminaries with a personal best 596 clip, matching the program record held by Ford. In the finals, he finished with a total of 143 to claim fifth place.
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Also hailing from Fairfax Station, Va., Ford charted a score of 593 in the preliminaries, which tied as the third-best score of the day. In the finals session, she tallied 100.6 points to secure a seventh-place finish in the event.
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She finished 10th in the smallbore competition Friday and garnered her second top-10 finish of the weekend Saturday in air rifle.
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West Virginia claimed the National Championship with a team total of 4703, while Texas Christian was second (4694) and Murray State was third (4690).
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#STATEment
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NC State was the only program to have more than one shooter in the air rifle finals, as only the top eight in the preliminaries earns a spot in the finals session.
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"First, I'm so proud of Caitlyn and Lucas for their excellent performances at their first NCAAs," said head coach Keith Miller. "It's not uncommon for shooters in their first championships to falter a bit, but these two focused on their individual processes just like they did all year. The outcome of that focus was three-for-three top 10 performances.
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"That is a wonderful accomplishment and reinforces the right way to accomplish great things. Lucas led all competitors in qualifying score today with a 596, which is his personal best and ties Caitlyn for the school record air rifle score. To shoot a personal best and school record in your first NCAAs is quite an accomplishment. When you factor in that this was Lucas' fourth match in the last two weeks - with one being in Thailand, it's even more impressive.
Â
"Overall these two have made a tremendous Statement for themselves and our university. A lot of people are paying close attention to us now, and this will reinforce the fact that we are in the process of building a strong program. Today was awesome, and it's a great step forward to an even brighter future."
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Kozeniesky, junior from Fairfax Station, Va., fired the highest score of the day in the preliminaries with a personal best 596 clip, matching the program record held by Ford. In the finals, he finished with a total of 143 to claim fifth place.
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Also hailing from Fairfax Station, Va., Ford charted a score of 593 in the preliminaries, which tied as the third-best score of the day. In the finals session, she tallied 100.6 points to secure a seventh-place finish in the event.
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She finished 10th in the smallbore competition Friday and garnered her second top-10 finish of the weekend Saturday in air rifle.
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West Virginia claimed the National Championship with a team total of 4703, while Texas Christian was second (4694) and Murray State was third (4690).
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#STATEment
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Players Mentioned
/ Rifle
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