Jackson Purchase News

Racers Wrap Season At NCAA Championships

The Murray State rifle team finished its 2022-23 season Saturday at the 2023 NCAA Rifle Championships at the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron. The Racers shot a 2366 in air rifle to finish the event with an aggregate of 4688 and in eighth out of eight teams.

"I'm proud of the effort," said head coach Alan Lollar after the match. "Our team worked really hard, but the margin for error at the NCAA Championships is so small. It's the difference of a couple of points here and there and it all adds up.

"We had a good year. We grew up a lot. I think we learned things about ourselves and what it takes to compete against the best that will be useful next year. We return everyone, the future is exciting. The challenge gets bigger every year.

Matias Kiuru and Scott Patterson led the Racers with a 593, while John Blanton was next in line at 591. Allison Henry and Paola Paravati rounded out Murray State's day in air rifle at 589 and 588, respectively.

The 2022-23 season was one for the record books. The Racers set new program records in smallbore (2360), air rifle (2380) and aggregate (4740) at this year's NCAA Qualifier, with their aggregate score in the event going down as the third highest qualifying score nationally.

In February, the Racers further cemented their place in the record books by capturing the school's 17th OVC championship.

Original source can be found here.