CHARLESTON, S.C. (Oct. 5, 2024) – The No. 2-ranked West Virginia University rifle team opened its 2024-25 season with a 4744-4588 win over No. 20 Citadel on Saturday at the Inouya Marksmanship Center in Charleston. WVU captured the top six spots on the overall leaderboard.
 
West Virginia also competed against Citadel's women's team, collecting a 4744-4577 result to move to 2-0 on the season.
 
The Mountaineers claimed both disciplines in the match, winning smallbore with a score of 2356 and air rifle at 2388. WVU is now 3-3 all-time against Citadel.
 
For smallbore and air rifle, senior Gavin Barnick and sophomores Griffin Lake and Lauri Syrja served as counters for the match. Freshman Camryn Camp and Jacob Wisman counted for smallbore while senior Natalie Perrin and Freshman Ashlyn Blake counted in air rifle.   
 
Blake fired an 1188 during her debut match for the Mountaineers to finish in tied for first place. She posted a score of 592 in smallbore and a 596 in air rifle. Her mark in smallbore and her 98 centers across both disciplines were the best in the field.
 
Syrja finished with a similar 1188 total after hitting marks of 590 in smallbore and 598 for air rifle. His aggregate total set a new career-high by three points.
 
Lake finished in third place after producing an 1186 (589 SB – 597 AR) as Barnick posted an 1185 to finish in fourth place following scores of 589 in smallbore and 596 during air rifle. Wisman took fifth place after an 1184 aggregate total. He hit marks of 588 in smallbore followed by a 596 in air rifle.
 
Camp produced an 1181 aggregate score to finish in sixth place. She scored a 582 in smallbore followed by a 599 in air rifle. The event marked her first for the Mountaineers while her score in air rifle was the highest of the day.
 
Perrin only competed in air rifle, scoring a 597 as sophomore Maximus Duncan finished in ninth place with an 1163 following marks of 571 in smallbore and 592 in air rifle.  
 
Next up, WVU stays on the road against No. 5 Georgia Southern on Sunday, Oct. 6. The match against Georgia Southern is set to begin at 8 a.m. ET, inside the Shooting Sports Education Center in Statesboro, Georgia.
 
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