Rifle: Campriani Wins Gold at World Cup
June 02, 2010 02:27 PM | General
June 2, 2010
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| Nicco Campriani |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University rising senior Nicco Campriani shot a winning score of 703.2 and secured the gold medal in the 50M men’s rifle prone at the Fort Benning World Cup-USA on May 30, in Fort Benning, Ga.
The two-time National Rifle Association All-American shot a near-perfect 599 (99, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100) in the final qualification round before tallying 104.2 in the finals for his winning total. Representing Italy, the Florence native barely qualified for the final competition, having shot 586 in an elimination round on May 29.
“I won at the last shot, at the last shot!” exclaimed Campriani to the International Shooting Sport Federation following his win. “I really did not expect this medal. Prone is my backup event; I’m only ranked 93rd in the world. Today is my personal-best score.”
Campriani’s gold-medal showing followed a third-place finish in men’s 50M 3 position on May 27 with a combined score of 1272.5. The three-time Great American Rifle Conference champion shot 1175 in the qualifying relay (396 prone, 389 standing and 390 kneeling) and 97.5 in the finals.
“Nicco was shooting well in the weeks leading up to the World Cup,” says Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond. “His results at Fort Benning exemplify the progress he has made, especially in smallbore, and demonstrate that he can compete with the best in the world.”
Campriani just missed his shot for three medals, as he tied with three shooters for ninth place in the men’s 10M air rifle with a score of 596 (99, 100, 100, 100, 98, 99) on May 24. Though Campriani advanced to a mini shoot-off for the final three qualifying spots, he stood on the outside looking in with a score of 50.0.
Coach Hammond and rising redshirt-senior Andraz Poje also shot at the World Cup, representing Great Britain and Slovenia, respectively.
Hammond tied for 16th place in the rifle prone with a final score of 595 (100, 100, 100, 99, 100, 96); he advanced on the strength of a 592 elimination relay score. The fifth-year coach also shot 1154 (398 prone, 371 standing, 385 kneeling) in the 3 position competition.
Poje shot 1122 and 588 in the respective minimum qualifying score (MQS) 3 position and rifle prone competitions.
Next on the World Cup schedule is the Belgrade World Cup-Serbia on June 26-July 4.
