Rifle: WVU Sits in Second at GARC
February 28, 2009 08:40 PM | General
February 28, 2009
DAY ONE RESULTS
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| Brandi Eskew |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - On the strength of its 2295 smallbore score, the No. 1 West Virginia University rifle team stands in second place after one day of competition at the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center in Oxford, Miss.
Kentucky is first through day one with a 2310 team score. The Mountaineers are closely followed by Nebraska, which stands in third place with a score of 2293. Defending-champion Army is in fourth place (2256), and host Ole Miss is in fifth place (2254).
Additionally, three Mountaineers placed in the individual smallbore finals. Sophomore Brandi Eskew finished fourth overall with a score of 676, while classmates Tommy Santelli and Kyle Smith finished fifth (674.5) and seventh (671.7), respectively.
"I am pleased that we had three qualify for the finals today," says Coach Jon Hammond. "The experience they gained should help them at the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
"Overall, we had an OK day today. I know the team is capable of shooting better. Thankfully, we left ourselves with some room for improvement. Tomorrow's air rifle competition will be tight, but hopefully we can make up some ground on Kentucky and push for the championship."
Santelli paced the Mountaineers today, scoring 578 towards the team score. The Prosperity, Pa., native was particularly strong in prone, scoring 196 (99, 97).
Smith finished one point behind Santelli, scoring 577. The DuBois, Pa., native shot 197 (99, 98) prone, 193 kneeling (98, 95) and 187 standing (93, 94).
The Mountaineers' additional two smallbore counters were sophomore Andy Lamson (575) and junior Bryant Wallizer (565).
Eskew qualified for the smallbore finals with a strong 576 score. The Petersburg, W.Va., native shot 196 prone (97, 99), 192 kneeling (97, 95) and 188 standing (95, 93).
The GARC Championships continue tomorrow, March 1, at 9 a.m., with the air rifle competition. The air rifle finals are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.
