Rifle: WVU Finishes in Third Place at NCAAs
March 13, 2010 05:20 PM | General
March 13, 2010
Complete Results
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| Andy Lamson |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team finished in third place with a 4641 score at the 2010 NCAA Rifle Championships today in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Mountaineers (11-0, 7-0 GARC) also finished fifth today in air gun with a 2333 team score.
Host TCU earned its first national title with a 4675 aggregate score. The Horned Frogs shot 2361 in air gun today and won the discipline title. TCU finished second in smallbore yesterday with a 2314 score.
“The result is disappointing, but at the end of the day, finishing in third place at the national championships is still something you can be proud of and build on,” says fourth-year coach Jon Hammond. “I always say that the rifle championship is determined by who has the best one-day result. TCU shot great both days and deserves the win.”
Alaska-Fairbanks earned a two-day score of 4653 and finished in second place. Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) foe Kentucky finished one shot behind WVU with a 4640 score, while Army finished fifth with a 4627 aggregate score.
Columbia State’s Jonathan Hall won the individual air rifle title with a final score of 699.9. Hall shot an incredible 595 in the open relay and 104.9 in the championship.
Junior Andy Lamson paced the Mountaineers today and tied for 12th place overall with a 587 score.
“I’m really proud of Andy and they way he bounced back today with a strong air rifle score,” Hammond, the 2010 GARC Coach of the Year, says.
Sophomore Michael Kulbacki shot 584, while senior Bryant Wallizer finished with a 582 score. Junior Tommy Santelli rounded out the WVU team total with a 580 score.
WVU entered the second day of the championships in third place, having shot 2308 in yesterday’s smallbore competition. UAF won the smallbore title with a 2320 score.
The Mountaineers’ entered this weekend’s championships as the defending national champions, having won their nation-best 14th title last year.
WVU concluded its 2010 campaign as the GARC regular-season champions. The Mountaineers also won their first conference title since 2000 on Feb. 21. Additionally, the squad was the first WVU team since 2001 to finish the regular season undefeated.
“We had a fantastic season and we accomplished a lot,” Hammond says. “We will learn from this experience and come back strong next year.”
National Rifle Association All-America honors will be announced early next week.
