No. 3 Rifle Performs Well, Scores 4711 at Withrow Open Saturday

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 3 University of Kentucky rifle team continued its strong performances this spring season by posting a team aggregate score of 4711 on Saturday inside the Pat Spurgin Range on the campus of Murray State University. The Wildcats were competing in the 2020 Withrow Open, which is a three-day, eight-team event that concludes Sunday.   
 
“I thought the team did good today after coming off a high performance,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “We definitely saw some areas where we can strengthen ourselves and we had some good individual performances as well. Looking forward to competing at home next weekend. The team is working very hard right now and will continue working hard from this point forward.”
 
The Wildcats started the Withrow Open with a 2334 score in smallbore paced by sophomore Will Shaner, who scored a 591. Freshman Mary Tucker earned a 588 in the discipline while junior Hailee Sigmon earned a 578 and sophomore Richard Clark a 577. Sophomore Ruby Gomes concluded the lineup with a 573. Several Wildcats not in the lineup performed well as individuals with sophomore Mitchell Nelson earning a 579 while freshman Mason Hamilton and junior Mason Joachim each posted 577s. Freshman Jaden Thompson scored a 576 in smallbore while fellow rookie Emmie Sellers posted a 568.
 
Kentucky scored its fourth-highest air rifle team score of the season Saturday of 2377. Tucker and Shaner paced the Wildcats scoring 597s in air rifle with Tucker hitting four 100s while Shaner had three perfect scores. Sellers earned a 593 scoring five 99s and one 98, while Sigmon posted a 590 and Gomes rounded out the rotation with a 588. Competing as individuals, Clark earned a 589, Nelson scored a 584, Thompson posted a 583, Joachim totaled a 574 and senior Ian Foos a 576.
 
Shaner posted an aggregate score of 1188 to lead the Wildcats while Tucker wasn’t far behind at 1185. The two other Wildcats that were in both discipline lineups were Sigmon, who totaled 1168, and Gomes, who posted a 1161. Clark (1166), Nelson (1163), Sellers (1161), Thompson (1159) and Joachim (1151) each competed in both relays and performed well.  
 
UK will return home for a dual match with Memphis on Saturday, Feb. 1. The match will be held at the UK Rifle Range in Barker Hall on campus. Admission is free. After the home match, UK will travel to Morgantown, West Virginia on Feb. 15 for a dual match with the Mountaineers before hosting a NCAA Qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 22.
 
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.