North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Collegiate Sectionals
NC State Rifle Takes Care of VMI and Penn State
2/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Rifle
Feb. 17, 2004
LEXINGTON, V.a. - Not only did this past Saturday's National Rifle Association Collegiate Sectional serve as an NCAA qualifying match for NC State, it also resembled an awards banquet of sorts. The Wolfpack's total aggregate score of 5,976 (4,487 smallbore + 1,489 air rifle) was enough to secure a victory over Penn State (5,727 aggregate) and VMI (5,500 aggregate).
All NRA Sectional gold, silver and bronze medals up for grabs in the competition were awarded to Wolfpack sharpshooters. In the smallbore competition freshmen Kirk Freeman (1,136), Jennifer Marshall (1,129) and Matthew Gifford (1,114) placed in the top three. All three scores set personal best records for each shooter. Sophomore Christine Kimball (379), and juniors Ryan Dorety (377) and Laura Ferrell (375) produced the top three air rifle scores. Ferrell's score ties her personal record for air rifle. Dorety (1,108) and Kimball (1,074) also set personal best records for smallbore full course competition, as did junior John Maroglio (1,089). Freeman also won ROTC honors for highest scores in both air rifle and smallbore. NC State won team awards for highest totals in both competitions.
"I'm very pleased with our smallbore score," stated head coach Keith Miller. "This is the first time in many years that we've had our top four all over 1,100 for a full course. That was one of our goals, so it's very gratifying to reach it. For the team score, our goal for this match was a 4,500 aggregate. While we were 13 points off that number, I'm still happy with the effort. Our shooters worked through several problems during the match, so their level of performance was clearly there when everything is considered. Given that all four on our smallbore team fired personal records, there was a lot of well earned congratulating going around."
This past weekend's results push NC State's record to 37-2 overall in NCAA competition. They remain 20-2 in the South Eastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC). Coach Miller anticipates that the performance will land NC State in the top 25 nationally, citing unofficial scores placing the Pack around the 23 spot. In 2003 the Wolfpack was ranked 26th nationally, following a 2002 ranking of 25th place.
"Winning the SEARC title is our number one goal this year," stated Coach Miller. "We've had a lot of success so far and have improved at almost every match this season. I think that our shooters are really putting it together now and we look to have a very strong performance at the conference championships. We very much want to put a bold mark on the season, and a decisive win would do just that. Right now, that is our focus."
The Wolfpack will host the SEARC Championship on February 28, at the Wake County Range in Holly Springs. The field will include up to ten teams competing for both individual and team honors. NC State currently leads the conference and is poised to win the championship for the first time since joining the SEARC in 1997.
