No. 3 Rifle Posts Nation-Leading 4734, Defeats No. 12 Army

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Behind the highest aggregate school in program history of 4734 – which is the best team aggregate score in the nation this season – the No. 3 University of Kentucky rifle team earned a 4734-4670 victory over No. 12 Army on Sunday at the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center in West Point, New York.
 
It was a performance for the record books for Kentucky, whose 4734 was not only a school-record aggregate score but the best team score in the nation this season, besting TCU’s 4732. The high mark bests Kentucky’s previous school record of 4719.
 
“I am really happy for the team,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “They have been working very hard to get to this point and it is so awesome to see them get that big number together. I was very proud of the way they battled for every point today to get a new school record for combined score and air rifle. Overall, I felt this was a productive weekend, moving forward in the right direction. I think the team can be very pleased about how they performed this weekend yet it still gives us plenty to work on moving forward.”
 
Kentucky started its dominance in the match with a season-high 2344 in smallbore, which was the fourth highest smallbore score in the country this season. Sophomore Will Shaner led the way for Kentucky with a 593, marking his second highest score in the discipline this season. Freshman Mary Tucker had the second best smallbore score in the match with a 588. Shaner and Tucker have combined to post each of the top six smallbore scores in the country this season.  Sophomore Richard Clark was third with a season-best 585 while sophomore Ruby Gomes posted a 578 and freshman Jaden Thompson completed UK’s lineup with a 574. Freshman Emmie Sellers also competed and scored a 572.
 
It was air rifle that UK really shined Sunday using the lineup of Gomes, Sellers, Shaner, Tucker and junior Hailee Sigmon, who competed in the first relay and scored a season-high 596. Tucker was near perfect in the match scoring a 599, which tied the best score in the nation this season. This was the second time this year that Tucker has scored a 599 in air rifle as the freshman has six scores of 598 or better on the year. Gomes shot a season-best 598 in the discipline to finish second while Shaner earned a 597, which also tied a season best. Sellers rounded out the lineup with 589 while Thompson shot a 591 and Clark a 590. In all, a Wildcat had seven of the top 10 scores during the day in air rifle.
 
Shaner was the top individual at the event with a season-high aggregate score of 1190, while Tucker finished second with an aggregate of 1187. Tucker has posted the best four aggregate scores in the nation this season with Tucker’s 1190 Sunday ranking as the fifth best in the nation. Gomes’ 1176 was her best aggregate of the season as she finished tied for third while Clark was sixth at 1175, Thompson seventh at 1165 and Sellers ninth at 1161.
 
The Wildcats will return to action next weekend when they compete in the 2020 Withrow Invitational at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range on the campus of Murray State University. UK will then host Memphis for a dual match on Feb. 1 before ending the regular season at West Virginia on Feb. 15. UK’s NCAA qualifier will be Feb. 22 in Lexington.
 
This season’s GARC Championships will be in Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 28-29. Kentucky will play host to the 2020 NCAA Championships in Memorial Coliseum on March 13-14. Tickets are available online at UKAthletics.com/NCAARifle.
 
For the latest on the Kentucky rifle team, follow @UKRifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.