MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 2- ranked West Virginia University rifle team shoots for its fifth consecutive national title at the 2017 NCAA Championships, hosted by the Ohio State University on March 10-11, at French Field House, in Columbus, Ohio.
The NCAA Championships will begin Friday, March 10, with the smallbore discipline. The day will consist of two relays at 10:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
The air rifle discipline of the NCAA Championships will be held on Saturday, March 11. Relay times are set for 10:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
The preparation and sighting period will begin 15 minutes before each relay. Finals will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday and at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re really excited to be heading to another NCAA Championship,” Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. “It’s one of the events we work for throughout our season. Ultimately it’s a chance for the team to test itself. I think at the moment we’re very focused on ourselves and what we’re doing to prepare and get ready, but naturally we’re excited to go there and compete.”
Senior Jean-Pierre Lucas, junior Elizabeth Gratz, sophomore Ginny Thrasher and freshmen Morgan Phillips and Milica Babic will represent the Mountaineers (12-0, 8-0 GARC) at this year’s NCAA Championships.
TCU enters the NCAA Championships as the No. 1- ranked team, while WVU ranks No. 2. Murray State follows at No. 3, and Air Force comes in at No. 4.
Alaska-Fairbanks ranks No. 5, while Kentucky checks in at No. 6. Ohio State ranks No. 7, and Nebraska rounds out the qualified teams at No. 8.
Individual qualifiers for the air rifle discipline of the NCAA Championships are Alison Weisz (Mississippi), Nathan Brewer (Army), Caitlyn Ford (NC State) and Lucas Kozeniesky (NC State).
Smallbore individual qualifiers for the NCAA Championships are David Sink (JSU), Amy Fister (Memphis), Brandon Muske (JSU) and Makennon Doran (Memphis).
“The ability for fans, staff, friends and family to be able to come and watch the NCAA Championships is great,” Hammond added.
WVU will shoot for the program’s 19th national title. The Mountaineers hold the record for the most NCAA Championship titles.
The Mountaineer squad captured the national title last year with an aggregate score of 4703, scoring 2338 in the smallbore discipline and 2365 in the air rifle discipline.
TCU finished in second overall last year, while Murray State came in third. Air Force earned a fourth-place finish and Kentucky placed fifth.
Alaska-Fairbanks came in at sixth place, while Ohio State and Nebraska placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
Thrasher returns to the NCAA Championships as the reigning smallbore and air rifle national champion. The Springfield, Virginia, native shot a smallbore score of 586 with a final score of 461.5 and an air rifle score of 593 with a final score of 208.8.
She became the second Mountaineer ever to win both titles at the same championship. Petra Zublasing was the first Mountaineer to earn both national titles in 2013.
Of note, Thrasher is the only member of this year’s Mountaineer squad that has shot in a previous NCAA Championship.
“I think Ginny has done a great job this year of doing her best for the team,” Hammond said. “I think she’s going to go there focused to perform her best, help her teammates perform their best and not worry about an individual championship.”
The Mountaineers (12-0, 8-0 GARC) enter the NCAA Championships after winning the Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships with a score of 4725, scoring 2341 in the smallbore discipline and 2384 in the air rifle discipline, on Feb. 25, in Akron, Ohio.
