UK Rifle Primed for NCAA Championships

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Kentucky rifle team will convene with seven other of the nation’s best in the main, and final, event of the season – the 2018 NCAA Championships. UK will make its 18th consecutive appearance at the championships, which will be hosted by The Citadel on March 9-10 inside McAlister Field House. Action will begin on Friday morning at 9:45 a.m. ET with smallbore and conclude on Saturday with air rifle.
 
“This is what it is all about,” head coach Harry Mullins said. “We have worked hard to get to this point in our journey, now it’s time to put all the things we learned about ourselves to the test. The team had its ups and downs this year in terms of scores, yet they’ve had the resolve to keep pushing. This match is always intense, pressure-packed and one of the most exciting matches in our sport. Teams really come out and push for each other.”
 
Five-time defending national champion West Virginia is the overall No. 1 seed with TCU and Murray State to round out the top-3 seeds. Alaska Fairbanks, seeded fifth, is followed by Air Force, Ohio State, and Nebraska. Qualifying individuals from Navy, NC State, Memphis, UT Martin, Ole Miss, Memphis, Army, and Navy will also compete this weekend.
 
The Wildcats are coming off a second-place finish at the Great American Rifle Conference Championships where they posted the highest score in air rifle on the final day of competition and placed two individuals in the top-five standings. Despite missing the GARC Championships, UK will have star freshman Henrik Larsen back in the lineup this weekend.
 
At the 2017 NCAA Championships, the Wildcats finished in fourth place and had two finish in the top 25.
 
“I am very proud of this group and what they’ve accomplished so far this season,” Mullins added. “I know the effort will be there and we have to put ourselves in good position so the scores will match.”
 
For the latest on the Kentucky rifle team, follow @UKRifle on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.