Rifle: Wallizer Wins National Title
June 16, 2009 08:37 PM | General
June 16, 2009
 |
||
| Bryant Wallizer |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Following a two-day competition, West Virginia University senior Bryant Wallizer captured the air rifle title today with a score of 1288.4 at the 2009 USA Shooting National Championships at Ft. Benning’s International Shooting Complex in Columbus, Ga.
With the win, the Little Orleans, Md., native automatically qualifies for the US National Development team.
"This is insane. I came down here to do a job, and I did it," Wallizer says. "I'm really excited. I think winning today is bigger than winning the NCAA Championship because there is a broader base of competition. This is just a huge honor."
"It was great to watch Bryant shoot so well over the last two days," says coach Jon Hammond. "I'm really proud of him. He's been training really hard the past few months and came in to this championship very focused. Today and yesterday were some of the best matches I have ever seen him shoot."
Wallizer’s consistently strong shooting propelled him to the title, as he shot 594 yesterday, one point short of his personal-best score, and 591 today. He shot 103.4 in the top-eight final.
The win comes on the heels of a strong junior season from the 2009 National Rifle Association (NRA) first team air rifle All-American, who finished second overall at the 2009 NCAA National Championships.
Teammates Andy Lamson, Michael Kulbacki and Tommy Santelli competed alongside Wallizer in the air rifle championship.
Junior Lamson and sophomore Kulbacki advanced to the junior division finals, finishing fifth (1266.5) and eighth (1259.9), respectively. Lamson, a Colchester, Vt., native, shot 581 yesterday, 587 today and 98.5 in the final, while Kulbacki, a DuBois, Pa., native, shot 580 yesterday, 583 today and 96.9 in the final.
Junior Santelli finished 17th overall with a score of 1165. The Prosperity, Pa., native shot 580 yesterday and 585 today.
Graduate Paul Miller is also competing at the championships, and finished 44th with a two-day score of 1140.
All four Mountaineers, as well as Hammond, will next compete in the smallbore championships, also at the shooting complex, June 17-20.
