Hickey Signs NLI to Join Wolfpack Rifle Program

RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State rifle head coach Keith Miller announced Friday that Sarah Hickey, a highly accomplished shooter, has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to compete for the Wolfpack. Hickey will join the program prior to the start of the 2016-17 academic year.

"Sarah should be a great addition to our team," said Miller. "She's been shooting good scores consistently in smallbore for the last year or so, and her air rifle scores are improving.

"We think she's one of those shooters on the way up, so we look forward to working closely with Sarah to help her reach the next level. We have a great track record with shooters like her."

Sarah Hickey signing her NLI

Hickey hails from Silver Spring, Md., where she attends Northwood High School and is a four-year member of the Antietam Junior Rifle Club under the direction of Norris Diefenderfer. She was a competitor in the 2015 USA Shooting National Rifle Championships and also qualified for the Junior Olympic Rifle Championships in 2015.

In addition, Hickey claimed third place at the 2015 Maryland State Junior Olympic Women's Three-Position Smallbore and Air Rifle competitions. She also helped her team secure first place in the smallbore and air rifle events at the Palmyra Invitational.

As an individual, she earned the 2015 NRA President Top 100 Award, which is a special award given to competitors who place in the top 100 in either NRA three-position smallbore or four-position smallbore at the National Junior Indoor Championship.

"NC State is the kind of place talented young shooters like Sarah can excel," Miller added. "With strong academics, an improving and close knit rifle team, and the fantastic support system that athletics provides to us, the sky is the limit!"

In 2014, Hickey finished first at the NRA Metallic Sights Prone Regional match in the sharpshooter class. That year, she also won the National Smallbore Conventional Prone Championships in the 50 meter and Dewar events.

Hickey collected third place at the 2014 Maryland State Junior Olympics in women's air rifle and won the event the previous year. She was third in three-position smallbore at the 2013 Maryland State Junior Olympics and helped her team finish first at the NRA Junior Air Rifle Three-position sectional in 2013.

The Maryland native comes from a long line of competitive rifle shooters, as her grandfather, Robert E. Hickey, was a two-time All-American at the University of Illinois and Illinois College and won the Redfield Trophy in 1959. Her brother, Andrew, is a current member of the rifle team at VMI and is one of the team's top shooters.

Hickey rode horses competitively for eight years and has been a member of the honor roll each of her years in high school. She received the President's Volunteer Service Award in April.

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