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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Hosts GARC Championships
2/24/2006 | Rifle
Feb. 24, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss will once again play host to this year's Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships taking place at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center this weekend Feb. 25-26.
The tournament marks the second time in the rifle program's ten-year history that it has hosted the conference championships. The Rebels hosted last year's season ending tournament. Ole Miss joined the GARC prior to the 2001-02 season.
"We're very excited to bring the conference championships back to Ole Miss and to get a chance to showcase our facility, which I think is one of the finest in the nation," said Ole Miss head coach Valerie Boothe.
The GARC boasts some of the best rifle programs in the country, including four of the seven teams in the nation selected to participate in the NCAA Championships. Ole Miss joins NCAA participants Army, Kentucky and Nebraska, as well as conference rivals Memphis, West Virginia and Xavier, in the two day event.
The Rebels had a banner season in 2005-06, setting team meet records for aggregate scoring (4666), air rifle (2344) and smallbore (2325). Senior Samantha Leach set a new school record in the individual smallbore (587) and sophomore Shannon Wilson tied junior All-America Jennifer Lorenzen's school record in the individual air rifle (590). Ole Miss also won its first-ever NCAA Sectional.
"Our kids are ready for this weekend. This gives us a great chance to face some of the same teams we will face at the NCAA Championships. They're ready to perform well and hopefully shoot some great scores," Boothe said.
The premier shooting facility at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center was built prior to last season, and the Rebels have already hosted four home matches and a NCAA sectional this season.
Competition commences at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday and runs through Sunday afternoon. The smallbore competition begins on Saturday morning, while the air rifle portion starts Saturday afternoon.