UK Rifle Finishes Sixth at NCAA Championships

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Kentucky rifle team finished sixth at the NCAA Championships on Saturday.

The Wildcats finished with a score of 4657. West Virginia narrowly won the NCAA Championship over host Alaska Fairbanks 4702-4700.

TCU placed third with 4667, Nebraska was fourth (4667) and Jacksonville State was fifth (4664).

“We struggled as a team this NCAA Championships,” Mullins said. “It seemed at times that our process broke down and we could never recover in critical times. That is something we will have to fix.”

“It is disappointing to get these types of scores when you have put in so much hard work, yet it should show us that we have to keep pushing through our blocks to get the numbers we feel we deserve.”

Kentucky shot 2359 in air rifle on Saturday. Heather Kirby was UK’s top shooter on the day with a 592 on the first relay. Connor Davis shot a 591 during the third relay.

Jason Sharbel completed a strong NCAA Championships with a 589 during the second relay. Sonya May shot a 587 during that relay as well.

Jonathan Pinkel shot a 582 during the first relay.

“Jason Sharbel deserves mention for doing a great job this weekend,” Mullins said.

Kentucky shot 2298 in smallbore on Friday.

Connor Davis placed third in smallbore, with a score of 583. Davis shot 441.3 in the final to claim the NCAA Bronze.

“We are very happy that Connor finished third in the individual smallbore final ,” Mullins said. “He put himself in a position to win and just came up a little short. Yet just getting to that spot is a good achievement.”

Heather Kirby began Friday with a 568 in the first smallbore relay. Jason Sharbel recorded a 576 on the second relay, while Jonathan Pinkel produced a 567.

Sonya May turned in a 571 during the third relay, and Davis produced his 583 on the fourth relay.

Nebraska’s Rachel Martin won the individual smallbore title with a 453.3 in the final. Alaska Fairbanks’ Ryan Anderson claimed the NCAA Smallbore Silver with a 452.6 in the final.

The overall team champion was determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team total scores into one aggregate score for each institution.

Team Results

1. West Virginia: 4207

2. Alaska Fairbanks: 4700

3. TCU: 4667

4. Nebraska: 4667

5. Jacksonville State: 4664

6. Kentucky: 4657

7. Air Force: 4642

8. Murray State: 4637