Saturday, February 24
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
vs
GARC Championships
No. 1 WVU Hosts GARC Championships
February 23, 2018 02:03 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The top-ranked West Virginia University rifle team plays host to the 2018 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships Feb. 24-25, at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.
The first smallbore relay will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday, with two additional relays to follow. The smallbore final is set for 2:30 p.m.
The first air rifle relay will begin at 8 a.m. Sunday, with two additional relays to follow. The air rifle final will be held at 2 p.m., and a championship awards presentation will follow.
Admission is free both days. Due to the women's and men's basketball double-header at the WVU Coliseum on Saturday, fans will be directed to park near the WVU Track and must vacate the parking lot as soon as the competition is complete.
WVU, the 2018 GARC regular-season champion, enters the weekend having won the last eight GARC Championship titles, including the 2017 championship with a 4725 total. The Mountaineers have earned a conference-best 12 titles.
"We have to focus on this weekend and this match," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "We need to focus on performing our best these two days to win a conference championship and shooting our best. We want to focus on the present and ourselves. We want everyone to shoot their best.
"We have a lot of advantages being the host this weekend. I hope we're able to put on a really great event for the other teams, and I hope our team, and the other GARC teams who qualified for the NCAA Championships, have a really good experience and practice run for the championships."
Having already earned the No. 1 seed to the 2018 NCAA National Championships, the Mountaineers (13-0, 9-0 GARC) boast the nation's top aggregate (4723.786), smallbore (2341.143) and air rifle (2382.643) season averages. WVU has shot three NCAA records this season, tallying a 4742 aggregate total at No. 3 Murray State on Nov. 12, as well as a 2356 smallbore mark. The Mountaineers also shot an NCAA record 2392 against Ole Miss on Oct. 21.
The Mountaineers boast the conference's top air rifle shooter in junior Ginny Thrasher, who ranks No. 1 with a 596.786 season average. Thrasher also ranks No. 2 in the GARC in smallbore with a 586.571 average. Kentucky's Henrik Larson ranks No. 1 with an average of 592.25.
WVU built a substantial lead at the 2017 GARC Championships, shooting a 2341 smallbore mark on day one at Akron's Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House. The score was 30 shots better than the team's nearest opponent. WVU shot a winning 2384 mark on day two to secure its title.
Thrasher won the GARC air rifle title with a 208.4 final score. Morgan Phillips finished a team-best second in smallbore with a 454.3 final total.
Of note, sophomore Milica Babic will not be available this weekend, as she is competing at the 2018 European Championship in Gyor, Hungary.
The first smallbore relay will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday, with two additional relays to follow. The smallbore final is set for 2:30 p.m.
The first air rifle relay will begin at 8 a.m. Sunday, with two additional relays to follow. The air rifle final will be held at 2 p.m., and a championship awards presentation will follow.
Admission is free both days. Due to the women's and men's basketball double-header at the WVU Coliseum on Saturday, fans will be directed to park near the WVU Track and must vacate the parking lot as soon as the competition is complete.
WVU, the 2018 GARC regular-season champion, enters the weekend having won the last eight GARC Championship titles, including the 2017 championship with a 4725 total. The Mountaineers have earned a conference-best 12 titles.
"We have to focus on this weekend and this match," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "We need to focus on performing our best these two days to win a conference championship and shooting our best. We want to focus on the present and ourselves. We want everyone to shoot their best.
"We have a lot of advantages being the host this weekend. I hope we're able to put on a really great event for the other teams, and I hope our team, and the other GARC teams who qualified for the NCAA Championships, have a really good experience and practice run for the championships."
Having already earned the No. 1 seed to the 2018 NCAA National Championships, the Mountaineers (13-0, 9-0 GARC) boast the nation's top aggregate (4723.786), smallbore (2341.143) and air rifle (2382.643) season averages. WVU has shot three NCAA records this season, tallying a 4742 aggregate total at No. 3 Murray State on Nov. 12, as well as a 2356 smallbore mark. The Mountaineers also shot an NCAA record 2392 against Ole Miss on Oct. 21.
The Mountaineers boast the conference's top air rifle shooter in junior Ginny Thrasher, who ranks No. 1 with a 596.786 season average. Thrasher also ranks No. 2 in the GARC in smallbore with a 586.571 average. Kentucky's Henrik Larson ranks No. 1 with an average of 592.25.
WVU built a substantial lead at the 2017 GARC Championships, shooting a 2341 smallbore mark on day one at Akron's Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House. The score was 30 shots better than the team's nearest opponent. WVU shot a winning 2384 mark on day two to secure its title.
Thrasher won the GARC air rifle title with a 208.4 final score. Morgan Phillips finished a team-best second in smallbore with a 454.3 final total.
Of note, sophomore Milica Babic will not be available this weekend, as she is competing at the 2018 European Championship in Gyor, Hungary.
Players Mentioned
Jon Hammond NCAA Championship | March 18
Wednesday, March 18
A Conversation with Wren Baker
Monday, December 05
Jon Hammond | Thursday
Thursday, September 30
Life as a Mountaineer - Jared Eddy
Wednesday, March 24
