Saturday, February 29
Memphis, Tenn.
9:00 a.m
West Virginia University
vs
GARC Championships
Photo by: Matthew A. Smith
WVU Finishes Second at GARC Championships
February 29, 2020 08:09 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 3-ranked West Virginia University rifle team finished second overall at the 2020 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships with a two-day total of 4693 on Saturday, shot at the University of Memphis' Larry O. Finch Center, in Memphis, Tennessee.
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After a 2323 showing in smallbore on Friday, WVU shot 2370 in air rifle on Saturday. Kentucky had the top air rifle mark of 2385.
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The Wildcats, the only squad to defeat the Mountaineers in the regular season, finished first with a score of 4711. Akron finished third (4683), while Nebraska and Navy tied for fourth (4678).
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Junior Sarah Osborn finished the weekend with the championships second-best combined score, earning 583 smallbore and 597 air rifle for an aggregate score of 1180. Osborn's air rifle total was a personal best.
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Four Mountaineers represented WVU in the eight-person air rifle final. Sophomore Jared Eddy finished fourth overall with a score of 204.9. Senior Milica Babic placed fifth (184.3), followed by junior David Koenders in sixth (163.3). Osborn finished seventh overall with a 142.4.
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"Obviously, we want to compete and win conference championships, but we were beaten by a better team today," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "Kentucky shot great, but we had four individuals in the final. That was a positive for us, especially with Sarah and Jared's performances. I'm really pleased for them. As a team, we know we can shoot better air rifle, so we just have to keep working as hard as we can to make improvements."
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Kentucky's Will Shaner won the air rifle title with a 247.8 score.
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Osborn qualified for the final in third place, shooting a team-best 597 (100-98-100-100-100-99) in the day's first relay.
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Eddy, who also shot in the first relay, entered the final in a tie for fourth with a career-high matching 596 (99-99-99-100-99-100) total.
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Prior to the final, Babic and Koenders shot 595 and 593, respectively, toward the team scores.
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Joining the duo on WVU's counting squad were senior Morgan Phillips, sophomore Verena Zaisberger and freshman Akihito Shimizu. Phillips and Zaisberger shot matching 591s, while Shimizu tallied a 590.
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Junior Noah Barker (579) and freshmen Calista Smoyer (588) and Malori Brown (586) also shot in Saturday's competition.
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"This weekend was great preparation for NCAAs, especially with the team members being in that tournament environment," Hammond said. "It's great experience. It's very competitive, and they were a lot of great shooters there. Often the scores are lower in a tournament-style setting, and you can see that across the board, so that's a big challenge. We'll just keep working on the little things the next few weeks, and we'll go into NCAAs with a positive outlook and enjoy the championship as much as we can."
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Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will embark on a week of preparation before competing in the 2020 NCAA Rifle Championships, March 13-14, at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington.
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For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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After a 2323 showing in smallbore on Friday, WVU shot 2370 in air rifle on Saturday. Kentucky had the top air rifle mark of 2385.
Â
The Wildcats, the only squad to defeat the Mountaineers in the regular season, finished first with a score of 4711. Akron finished third (4683), while Nebraska and Navy tied for fourth (4678).
Â
Junior Sarah Osborn finished the weekend with the championships second-best combined score, earning 583 smallbore and 597 air rifle for an aggregate score of 1180. Osborn's air rifle total was a personal best.
Â
Four Mountaineers represented WVU in the eight-person air rifle final. Sophomore Jared Eddy finished fourth overall with a score of 204.9. Senior Milica Babic placed fifth (184.3), followed by junior David Koenders in sixth (163.3). Osborn finished seventh overall with a 142.4.
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"Obviously, we want to compete and win conference championships, but we were beaten by a better team today," Mountaineer coach Jon Hammond said. "Kentucky shot great, but we had four individuals in the final. That was a positive for us, especially with Sarah and Jared's performances. I'm really pleased for them. As a team, we know we can shoot better air rifle, so we just have to keep working as hard as we can to make improvements."
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Kentucky's Will Shaner won the air rifle title with a 247.8 score.
Â
Osborn qualified for the final in third place, shooting a team-best 597 (100-98-100-100-100-99) in the day's first relay.
Â
Eddy, who also shot in the first relay, entered the final in a tie for fourth with a career-high matching 596 (99-99-99-100-99-100) total.
Â
Prior to the final, Babic and Koenders shot 595 and 593, respectively, toward the team scores.
Â
Joining the duo on WVU's counting squad were senior Morgan Phillips, sophomore Verena Zaisberger and freshman Akihito Shimizu. Phillips and Zaisberger shot matching 591s, while Shimizu tallied a 590.
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Junior Noah Barker (579) and freshmen Calista Smoyer (588) and Malori Brown (586) also shot in Saturday's competition.
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"This weekend was great preparation for NCAAs, especially with the team members being in that tournament environment," Hammond said. "It's great experience. It's very competitive, and they were a lot of great shooters there. Often the scores are lower in a tournament-style setting, and you can see that across the board, so that's a big challenge. We'll just keep working on the little things the next few weeks, and we'll go into NCAAs with a positive outlook and enjoy the championship as much as we can."
Â
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers will embark on a week of preparation before competing in the 2020 NCAA Rifle Championships, March 13-14, at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington.
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For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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