Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Mountaineers Qualify for NCAA Championships
February 25, 2020 03:39 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 3-ranked West Virginia University rifle team will compete for its nation-best 20th NCAA title at the 2020 NCAA National Championships, as announced Tuesday afternoon by the NCAA Rifle Committee.
This year's NCAA Championships will be held March 13-14, at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington. The Mountaineers (9-1, 7-1 GARC) look to reclaim the NCAA Championship and earn their sixth title in eight seasons.
The qualification is the 13th straight for the Mountaineers. WVU owns a nation-best 19 national titles and has won six under 14-year coach Jon Hammond, including five straight from 2013-17.
"I think it's always exciting to know you've qualified for the NCAA Championships," Hammond said. "It's the first objective once we get to this point of the year, and we're happy to continue our postseason knowing we have two more competitions. It's a super tough field. Three teams shot above 4700 in the qualifier, and Kentucky and TCU are shooting really well right now. It's a tough competition, but we're happy to be in the field. Right now, our immediate focus is the conference championship, and then we'll turn our focus to Nationals."
The Mountaineers qualified as the field's third-ranked team with a 9423.67 qualification mark, based on the team's qualifying average of 4717.67 and its qualifying score of 4706, earned on Feb. 22, at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.
Joining the Mountaineers at the championship are No. 1 Kentucky, No. 2 TCU, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Akron, No. 6 Murray State, No. 7 Navy and No. 8 Air Force.
The teams earned championship bids based on the average of its three highest regular-season aggregate scores, with each score recorded at a different range. The average of the three scores was then added to the aggregate total from the team's designated qualifier to determine the final field.
A total of 48 competitors will compete at the championships, with eight selected as individual qualifiers. An NCAA rule established five years ago stipulates that a school that qualifies as a team is disqualified from sending individual qualifiers.
Up next, WVU shoots for its 11th consecutive Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship title on Feb. 28-29, at the University of Memphis' R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range, in Memphis, Tennessee.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This year's NCAA Championships will be held March 13-14, at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington. The Mountaineers (9-1, 7-1 GARC) look to reclaim the NCAA Championship and earn their sixth title in eight seasons.
The qualification is the 13th straight for the Mountaineers. WVU owns a nation-best 19 national titles and has won six under 14-year coach Jon Hammond, including five straight from 2013-17.
"I think it's always exciting to know you've qualified for the NCAA Championships," Hammond said. "It's the first objective once we get to this point of the year, and we're happy to continue our postseason knowing we have two more competitions. It's a super tough field. Three teams shot above 4700 in the qualifier, and Kentucky and TCU are shooting really well right now. It's a tough competition, but we're happy to be in the field. Right now, our immediate focus is the conference championship, and then we'll turn our focus to Nationals."
The Mountaineers qualified as the field's third-ranked team with a 9423.67 qualification mark, based on the team's qualifying average of 4717.67 and its qualifying score of 4706, earned on Feb. 22, at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building.
Joining the Mountaineers at the championship are No. 1 Kentucky, No. 2 TCU, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Akron, No. 6 Murray State, No. 7 Navy and No. 8 Air Force.
The teams earned championship bids based on the average of its three highest regular-season aggregate scores, with each score recorded at a different range. The average of the three scores was then added to the aggregate total from the team's designated qualifier to determine the final field.
A total of 48 competitors will compete at the championships, with eight selected as individual qualifiers. An NCAA rule established five years ago stipulates that a school that qualifies as a team is disqualified from sending individual qualifiers.
Up next, WVU shoots for its 11th consecutive Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship title on Feb. 28-29, at the University of Memphis' R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range, in Memphis, Tennessee.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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