MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rifle team ended its 2015-16 campaign with its fourth straight, nation-best 18th national title at the 2016 NCAA Rifle Championships, held on March 11-12, at the University of Akron’s Louis and Freda Stile Athletics Field House.

 

It was to no surprise that the Mountaineers were crowned the 2016 national champions. However, the records set along the way were a shock to everyone, including the team itself.

 

“It was definitely one of the best seasons we had in the history of the program,” 10-year coach Jon Hammond said. “There were so many great accomplishments that went with it. Looking at the stats, we had another undefeated season and another championship, which is incredible. Then there were some extra marks along the way. We set the national record by such a large margin, and that was just an incredible feeling. Then to have a freshman (Ginny Thrasher) win both individual championships at NCAA’s – it was as close to a perfect season as you could have.

 

“It is still hard to sit back and fully reflect on a lot of things. I think everyone is still recovering on the excitement of the season and all the work that they put in. Overall, it was a fun year. We had a really great team. We had a great group of kids that worked really hard, and they worked well together. We set a blueprint of how we want every season to be.”

 

With that said, Hammond and the 2016 WVU rifle team used this season to set the nation-wide standard for success.

 

West Virginia accomplished a special feat this season, as the Mountaineers claimed their fourth straight, nation-best 18th national title at the 2016 NCAA Rifle Championships.

 

Following the first day of competition, the team held a comfortable eight-shot lead ahead of TCU with a 2338 smallbore showing. The Mountaineers then secured the victory with a winning 2365 air rifle score. WVU captured the NCAA smallbore and air rifle team titles for only the second time under coach Hammond; the squad first achieved the feat in 2014.

 

WVU’s victory was its fifth at the National Championships under Hammond. Only two programs have won four or more straight titles since 1980. WVU previously put together title runs of six straight (1988-93) and four straight (1995-98). Alaska-Fairbanks also won six straight national championships from 1999-2004.

 

“It is hard to expect all of those things to happen,” Hammond stated. “We didn’t have expectations for all our outcomes per say, but I think we knew that we had a team capable of doing great things. It came together better than we thought, in terms of the team dynamic and the atmosphere of the team. They bought into the system and what we wanted from them. You always hope for things to go great.”

 

The Mountaineers are the only team in school history to win an NCAA Championship.

 

During the 2016 NCAA Championships, three Mountaineers represented WVU in the smallbore final, while one participated in the air rifle final. Each shooter earned a top-five finish at the championships.

 

Senior Michael Bamsey shot 587 smallbore to place first in the open relay. Freshman Ginny Thrasher tied for second with a 586 mark, while senior Meelis Kiisk shot 584 to tie for fifth place. The trio then represented West Virginia in the individual final, and the Mountaineers claimed three of the top-four spots. The NCAA smallbore title came down to the last shot between Thrasher and Kiisk, with Thrasher shooting 461.5 for the discipline win. A native of Springfield, Virginia, Thrasher was the first Mountaineer to claim the smallbore title since Petra Zublasing won the championship in 2013. Kiisk (455.3) and Bamsey (435.3) placed second and fourth, respectively, in the individual final.

 

Thrasher made it a clean sweep in the individual competition, as she also captured the NCAA air rifle title with a 208.8 final score. Thrasher became the second Mountaineer ever, and the first since Zublasing in 2013, to sweep the individual titles.

 

Thrasher earned the NCAA Championships’ Top Performer Award for her efforts.

 

The Mountaineers continued their dominance in the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) in 2015-16, winning their seventh straight GARC Championship title with a two-day total of 4702.

 

The team placed first in both disciplines, shooting 2335 smallbore and 2367 air rifle. Thrasher, the 2016 GARC Rookie of the Year, shot a career-high 591 smallbore in the open relay and 459.5 in the final for the discipline win. Thrasher was the fifth different Mountaineer to win the GARC smallbore title, and the first since Zublasing won in 2013. WVU has now won six GARC individual smallbore titles.

 

Three Mountaineers also shot alongside Thrasher in the individual smallbore final. Freshman Will Anti shot a career-high 590 and finished second with a final score of 455.5, while junior Jean-Pierre Lucas shot 583 and placed third with a 446.3 final score. Senior Garrett Spurgeon, the 2016 GARC Shooter and Senior of the Year, shot 582 in the open relay and 425.2 in the final to place fourth.

 

Following the first day of competition, Thrasher and Lucas represented the Mountaineers in the individual air rifle final. Thrasher scored 596 in the open air rifle relay and 205.9 in the final for second place overall. A native of Spears, Pennsylvania, Lucas shot 593 for sixth place and 104.6 in the air rifle final for fifth place overall.

 

West Virginia, the seven-time reigning GARC champions, also finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 12-0 overall record and an 8-0 conference mark for the team’s third straight undefeated season.

 

The 2015-16 WVU rifle team will be remembered for more than just winning titles, as the squad also rewrote the NCAA record book this season.

 

West Virginia displayed two record-setting performances against Alaska-Fairbanks (Jan. 12) and GARC foe Akron (Jan. 17) at the WVU Rifle Range. The Mountaineers set an NCAA record with an aggregate score of 4724 to beat the Nanooks, 4724-4697. West Virginia then shot 16 points better in its 4740-4621 victory over Akron, breaking the NCAA record for the second time in five days.

 

“I think the first time we set the record, we were excited,” Hammond explained. “We were able to look back and see that we were able to shoot a national record without shooting a lot of personal bests. The team really stayed focused on their process, and not so much the scores and outcome, but what they were doing day-to-day.

 

“It showed that were able to come back and shoot anther national record by such a large margin. There was probably a little bit of surprise, but certainly a lot of excitement. It opened all our eyes as to what you are capable of when you put the work in. When you focus on the right things, then everything will come together. It showed us what was possible.”

 

For the third time in his career, Hammond was named the 2016 GARC Coach of the Year. A native of Aberdeen, Scotland, Hammond led WVU to the nation’s top-four scores shot this season, including an NCAA-record 4740 achieved in a win against Akron on Jan. 17, at the WVU Rifle Range.

 

WVU also won its seventh straight GARC title and claimed the conference’s regular-season title with an undefeated 8-0 conference record.

 

“It is definitely nice to get those individual honors,” Hammond said. “I received great satisfaction on how the team was this year on a daily basis – how much they put into the team and how much they bought into our system. We had a great team atmosphere on all accounts this year, whether it was day-to-day, teammates helping other teammates or recruiting visits. Everything was very much a team atmosphere. Everyone put in 100 percent. We had a great team unit this year.”

 

Immediately following its National Championship victory, the No. 1 WVU rifle team scored 20 All-America honors.

 

Seven Mountaineers earned a combined 13 National Rifle Association (NRA) All-America awards, while seven Mountaineers were named to the College Rifle Coaches’ Association (CRCA) All-America Teams.

 

Spurgeon led the way for the Mountaineers, as he was named to the NRA Air Rifle and Smallbore First Teams, as well as the CRCA All-America First Team. Spurgeon concluded his Mountaineer career with 11 All-America honors, including 10 first-team awards.

 

Sophomore Elizabeth Gratz, Thrasher and Sunderman joined Spurgeon on the NRA Air Rifle First Team. The recognition was the second straight first-team award for Gratz and the first career honor for Thrasher. Sunderman also received first-team recognition for the first time in his career. The duo of Sunderman and Thrasher also were named to the NRA Smallbore Second Team, while Gratz earned NRA Smallbore Honorable Mention.

 

Kiisk earned NRA Air Rifle Second Team recognition for the third time in his career, while Lucas landed on the NRA Air Rifle Honorable Mention list for the second straight year. Kiisk and Lucas also were named to the NRA Smallbore First Team.

 

Bamsey earned NRA Smallbore First Team recognition. He also landed on the CRCA All-America Second Team list for the second straight year.

 

Thrasher and Kiisk also were named to the CRCA All-America First Team, while Sunderman, Lucas and Gratz landed on the CRCA All-America Second, Third and Honorable Mention lists, respectively.  

 

As one-of-two freshmen on the roster this season, Thrasher has made an early mark at West Virginia. This season, Thrasher shot a pair of 599 air rifle marks, with one coming for the team’s NCAA record-setting victory over Akron on Jan. 17.

 

Thrasher, the 2016 GARC Rookie of the Year, made it a clean sweep in the individual competition at the 2016 NCAA Championships. She became the second Mountaineer ever, and the first since Zublasing in 2013, to sweep the individual titles. She also captured the GARC smallbore title.

 

In addition, Thrasher also secured a roster spot for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, finishing first in the women’s 50m 3-position competition at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Smallbore on April 4.

 

“She has a huge amount of potential,” Hammond said. “She still has a lot of growth and improvement ahead of her, and that is even more exciting. This summer is going to be an amazing experience for her to gain a lot of international traveling and competing. Ultimately, she will be competing in the biggest competition there is. Obviously, I hope she comes back with renewed motivation and desire. I’m sure she will.

 

“She has the potential to really accomplish whatever she wants to accomplish in the next three years. She has seen the great influence with having strong leadership on the team, and I’m sure she is going to do what she cans to help the team as an individual. She is going to continue to accomplish great things, and we want to make sure that she is a part of the team.”

 

The Mountaineers were led by four seniors this season: Bamsey, Kiisk, Spurgeon and Sunderman. Kiisk, Spurgeon and Sunderman were on the Mountaineer roster for the four-peat series, while Bamsey was a member for two of the last four championships.

 

“We will definitely miss them,” Hammond noted. “They have all taken very different paths to get here, and they have all been a part of a great amount of success, as individuals and as a team. It is going to be a hard void and hole for us to fill in the future.

 

“Looking back, it is almost an unbelievable amount success that they have all had. They all brought something different to the team, and I think all their personalities and skills really joined together as one this year. They built a great atmosphere and gave a boost to the whole team.”