OXFORD, Miss. — The Kentucky rifle team posted a 4676-4654 win over the Ole Miss Rebels, with sophomore Katie Fretts totaling a season-best score in air rifle and sophomore James Jasis contributing a career-high in both guns, on Saturday at the Patricia C. Lamar Army National Guard Readiness Center.
“I am proud of the team for coming through a tough four-day stretch with four matches,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “It was a great experience for the team and you could tell they were a little spent today. I was happy that they were able to fight through it and come out with the win against a good Ole Miss team.”
Ole Miss tallied a season high in smallbore and a season high in the combined categories in the loss, pushing the Wildcats till the final relay.
Fretts and Jasis were standout performers on Saturday, as UK wrapped up a grueling stretch of three matches in a four day span, including a 500-mile trip to Ole Miss. Fretts totaled a 589 in air rifle, while Jasis totaled a career-high with a 573 in smallbore and a 583 in air rifle.
“Katie had a good match today,” Mullins said. “She ended up with a 589 in air rifle and a 577 in smallbore. That used to be her average, and for her to come in tired, I was real proud of her to be able to turn that out. She is starting to really get back in the grove and get numbers we are looking for.
“James had a personal best. His smallbore was solid, air gun starting to come together. I am real proud of him working real hard in practice. He has struggled to put it together in matches at times but this weekend he has shown that he is capable of doing what he has done in training sessions in matches.”
Ethan Settlemires, a native of Kossuth, Miss., and with his family in attendance, led UK with a 586 in smallbore and a 592 in air rifle. Emily Holsopple had a 583 in smallbore and a 590 in air rifle, despite shooting while feeling under the weather.
“I thought Ethan performed really well today,” Mullins said. “He was loose and relaxed. He shot an 1178 which is great for him to come back after struggling early this year. It was a good solid day’s performance. He has the capabilities to do that and today was a good indication of finding that and being able to work within himself that he is that type of shooter.
“Emily did a great job. She hung in there tough. She was a little under the weather. She ground out shot for shot and produced a good solid score. She jumped back up in the 580s. Real proud of her to come back and shoot a 590 air gun. That was commendable. She was on the hot seat on the second relay, with us only having a narrow lead in smallbore.”
Henri Junghänel finished with a 581 in smallbore and a 586 in air rifle.
“Henri struggled today at times, but at the same time, it shows that we are all human, that he can get tired too,” Mullins said. “He never gave in. He gave it 100 percent the whole time. From a score wise, if that is struggling, that is not necessarily that bad. The expectations of athletes of his caliber are always high and sometimes they have off days. That shows their character to perform as well as they can.”
Heather Greathouse added a 586 in air rifle and a 571 in smallbore, with senior Logan Fox charting a 575 in smallbore and a 585 in air rifle. Stacy Wheatley added a 586 in air rifle and a 579 in smallbore, while Megan English charted a 580 in air rifle and Ed Ryznar had a 577 in air gun.
“Stacy did a super job,” Mullins said. “She struggled at times, but she came back, despite being under the weather. Overall on the week, she has done a great job. She has been in the high 580s in air rifle in three matches in a row, been on the first team twice against two quality opponents. She is coming within herself to perform well.
“Logan and Heather were off the pace of their smallbore, but they were able to hold it together in air rifle and stay in the mid 580s to help out the team score to help ensure the win. They never gave up in air rifle, they stayed true to their shot plan and kept working. Heather struggled early in air rifle but pulled together a good performance. Logan performed with a 585 and closed pretty strong. Megan had a good string. She had some really deep strings in air rifle. I was excited to watch her shoot deep strings. I think we are going to see some really good things for her.”
