North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Rifle Ranked No. 23 Nationally
2/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Rifle
Feb. 26, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State rifle team has earned a No. 23 ranking with its current record of 37-2 overall and 20-2 in the South Eastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC). The Wolfpack are the only Atlantic Coast Conference rifle team to finish the regular season ranked.
This season there has been much success for the Wolfpack sharpshooters, especially the freshmen. In addition to junior Ryan Dorety, three of the top four overall shooters are freshmen. Jennifer Marshall, Kirk Freeman, and Matthew Gifford have all made exceptional contributions to the teams success over the course of this year. Marshall (379.45 air, 1,113.5 small bore), Freeman (377.45 air, 1,116 small bore), and Gifford (375.45 air, 1,108.5 small bore) are all averaging the top three air rifle and small bore full course scores for the season.
Throughout the course of the season many shooters have broken their personal best records several times. The team has also out-done itself on several occasions, breaking the all-time high score for air rifle three times, twice against North Carolinal. The current record, set against VMI and The Citadel February 7, stands at 1,522 points.
The Wolfpack will host the SEARC Championship on Saturday, 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. A link for directions to the Wake County Range can be found below.
