MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team fired a 4739 to defeat No. 11 Akron (4696) and No. 13 Navy (4697) on Saturday at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range in Annapolis, Maryland.
 
The Mountaineers matched a program record in air rifle, scoring a combined 2392 in the discipline. The mark tied the program record set in 2017 in a match against Ole Miss on Oct. 21 at the WVU Rifle Range.
 
Fifth-year senior Malori Brown, seniors Matt Sanchez and Molly McGhin, junior Natalie Perrin and freshman Griffin Lake served as counters in smallbore while freshman Lauri Syrja, Sanchez, McGhin, Perrin and Lake counted in air rifle.
 
McGhin and Syrja's 599, Lake's 598 and Perrin's 596 in air rifle contributed to the effort to match the program record in air rifle.
 
The Mountaineers (12-0, 5-0 GARC) claimed the smallbore relay, shooting 2347 in smallbore as the mark in air rifle was enough to capture that discipline as well. Navy posted scores of 2322 in smallbore and 2375 in air rifle as Akron hit marks of 2336 in smallbore and 2360 in air rifle.
 
Seven Mountaineers finished inside the top 10 on the overall leaderboard. McGhin led the way, leading all shooters in aggregate score at 1188. She scored a season-high 599 in air rifle and a 589 in smallbore.  
 
Sanchez came second on the match leaderboard, with a score of 1186. For the second straight weekend, he managed a career-high in smallbore with a 593. The mark was the highest in the field as he added a 593 in air rifle.
 
Syrja, competing in his first match for the Mountaineers, took third place overall with an 1184. He matched McGhin's 599 in air rifle and added a 585 in smallbore.
 
Brown took seventh place after posting an 1179 with marks of 585 in smallbore and 594 in air rifle. Lake claimed ninth place after he shot an 1177 (579 SB – 598 AR). His mark in air rifle matched a career-high.
 
Perrin 1176 (580 SB – 596 AR) and Senior Tal Engler 1176 (587 SB – 589 AR) were the final Mountaineers to crack the top 10, finishing in a tie for 10th place.  
 
Senior Becca Lamb finished just behind with an 1175 (582 SB – 593 AR) as Freshman Maximus Duncan 1172 (579 SB – 593 AR) rounded out the Mountaineers in action.
 
WVU is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 10, when they welcome Kentucky to Morgantown for senior day at the WVU Rifle Range. The match is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET.
 
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