MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the second time in West Virginia University history and the first time since 2014, a Mountaineer athletic team will visit the White House and meet with the President of the United States for NCAA Champions Day.
 
Members of the No. 1-ranked WVU rifle team will meet with President Donald Trump on the afternoon of November 17, at the White House in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the team's 2017 National Championship.
 
"We're incredibly excited. This is a huge honor and a privilege to attend an event like this," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "This is a recognition of the team's success this past season and our win at the 2017 National Championship. A lot of people may only get this opportunity once in their lives, and our team gets to make its second trip in three years. We're very excited."
 
"We are proud of our fifth straight rifle National Championship and 19th overall. Winning a National Championship as a student-athlete is a lifetime memory," WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons said. "Having NCAA Champions Day at the White House allows our program, and all of the champions from last year, to be recognized nationally for their outstanding accomplishment."
 
The Mountaineers' 2017 NCAA title was the program's fifth straight and nation-best 19th. The team first visited the White House in 2014 in celebration of its 2013 National Championships.
 
Included in the Mountaineers' travel party is former team captain Jean-Pierre Lucas, currently the assistant coach at Ole Miss.
 
WVU claimed the 2017 NCAA title with a championship-record 4723, shot on March 11 in Columbus, Ohio. Then-freshmen Morgan Phillips and Milica Babic won the smallbore and air rifle titles, respectively.