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The University of Mississippi Athletics
COACH BLOG: Boothe On The Latest Rifle News
12/21/2008 | Rifle
Ole Miss head rifle coach Valerie Boothe blogs on the latest happenings with her squad, which opens the spring season Jan. 23 at TCU.
At this point in the season, we are in a well deserved break. This fall, we have climbed to 10th in the nation, but come January we will be making our push for the final eight. The top eight teams receive the invite for NCAA Championships, and that is our main goal.
Just recently, while everyone was heading home for finals, two team members stayed to compete in the Mississippi State Junior Olympics. Freshman Keely Stankey and sophomore Erica Swanson were trying to earn an invitation to the National Junior Olympic Championship held in the spring at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. Competing in this match at the national level gives them a chance to become a member of the National Development Team, which is a stepping stone to the national team and possibly an Olympic Team. Since neither of them are Mississippi natives, they were required to post even higher scores to earn at-large bids. Swanson won the smallbore event with a score of 554/600 and Stankey was right behind her with a 553. Both girls had to shoot 575 to get the automatic bid, but there is still a remote chance that they will be invited for the smallbore event.
In air rifle, Stankey took top honors shooting a 392/400, and this time, Swanson was in second with a 389. For air rifle, the cut score was 390/400. So, Stankey sealed the deal, and we await hearing if Swanson's score will be good enough. Stacie Leatherman is also eligible to compete for an invitation. She will be able to earn her slot in her home state of Maryland while she is out on break.
Also, in our recent successes outside of team travel, three Rebels competed in a three-day air rifle tournament hosted by USA Shooting called 3xAir. The match took place at the OTC in Colorado Springs. I took Swanson, Stankey and sophomore Meredith Holman to shoot the match. I decided at the beginning of the season that we would take three of the team members to compete. I then put my qualifications in place to see who would be the individuals to go. These were the three that came out on top, although it was a really close margin.
While at the training center, we all had a fantastic time. Not only were we there to shoot, but also to recruit the up and coming stars of the sport. As expected, our team members had a great showing. Holman made a final on the second day and came out as the top junior shooter of that day. On day three, Stankey made the final, closing out a great tournament for herself. It's always a good thing for the next group coming to college to see your team members perform well.
Equally exciting for me was a chance encounter with one of the nation's greats. Being a girl, there is always time for shopping, and the OTC Gift Shop had all their Beijing items on sale. Of course, I couldn't pass up the chance for souvenirs at a discount. While making my final selections, I noticed someone signing books that looked familiar. It was Rulon Gardner, the gold medal wrestler of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I couldn't resist getting an autograph and picture made with him. I dragged my graduate assistant, Liz Holbert, along to take our picture. He was great to talk with and very inspiring. That made the trip that much more enjoyable.
As I said in the beginning, we are enjoying some down time, but we must be careful not to lose our momentum. You can look for the rifle team to be back on the range for practice on January 6. We will have a couple of intense weeks of practice to recharge before hitting the road to take on Jacksonville State and Morehead State in Jacksonville, Ala. We added this match only a couple of weeks ago to help improve our chances for qualifying for NCAAs. It has already been an exciting season for us, and we look to close it out on a high note in 2009.
