Weisz Takes Third in Air Rifle at GARC Championships

Feb. 28, 2016

OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss rifle junior Alison Weisz tied the school record in air rifle with a career-best 595 to reach the final and finished third in air rifle on the final day of the GARC Championships Sunday at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center.

Weisz equaled the school record (595) held by Meredith Holman.

Sophomore Jessica Haig fired a career-best 594 to join Weisz in the eight-person final. It marked the first time for the Rebels to have two in the air rifle final since 2012 when Keely Stankey and Quartarone both made the air rifle final.

The final was an exciting back and forth tug-of-war. Haig was the first shooter to be eliminated in the final with a score of 78.3.

Weisz made it to the final three with the last three shooters matching each other shot for shot and changing places often. With her teammates cheering her on, Weisz finished with a 184.3 in the final good for third place and the highest finish for a Rebel since assistant coach Melissa Quartarone earned third as a senior in 2014.

Hanna Carr of Kentucky edged second-place finisher Ginny Thrasher of West Virginia 206.0 to 205.9 to take individual air rifle honors. Thrasher helped her team best Kentucky in air rifle by four shots 2367-2363.

"The final was a lot of fun," Weisz said. That's probably the most fun I've ever had shooting. It's been something I've struggled with competing in finals, with all the pressure and people cheering. Today was different, it was so much fun and I was smiling the entire time regardless of what I shot."

Weisz knew how close she was to the school record in the second relay, and admitted to getting a little tight in the last 30 shots.

"It definitely got to me my last 30 shots. The first 30 I was in the zone and really content and at peace with myself," she said. "It felt really easy, and then all of a sudden I realized I had only dropped one point halfway through. I thought `wow I can do this'. From there I had to calm myself down and just focus on the shots and not worry about what the score would be. It was a battle, I wanted it so bad. But it was a good experience."

This was also the first GARC final for Haig, who just missed out on making finals in both smallbore and air rifle last year.

"Today was a great experience for me," Haig said. "Last year I was so close to making the finals in each discipline and finally me and Ali both made it. "The personal best is an added bonus. I had the sharpest pain running through my leg during the relay but shooting for the personal best helped distract me from the pain. I enjoy this weekend so much. It's really relaxing and all the other teams are here. The finals are a lot of fun, especially when people shoot 10s. I am really happy for Ali, she finished great."

Freshman Harley Gardner turned in a 581 in air rifle and Kristyn Trump posted a 572 to finish out the scoring for the Rebels.

In the final team standings, Ole Miss finished with a season-best aggregate of 4639, including a season-high of 2297 in smallbore on Saturday. The Rebels beat No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 Memphis and No. 14 Navy.

"We scheduled Ali and Jess to go last because we had confidence they would shoot good scores and either pull us up or keep momentum going. It was great to see Ali tie the school record and put her name in the record books again. Also great to see both her and Jess with a PR. It's the best finals appearance Ali has ever had in her career. We are really excited with how we finished overall."

West Virginia took home the combined title with a 4702 aggregate, while Kentucky placed second with 4677. NC State edged Army by three points for third with a 4651.

Weisz will continue her season in two weeks at the NCAA Championships in Akron, Ohio, where she will compete in air rifle for the second time in her career.

For more information on Ole Miss Rifle, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissRifle, on Facebook at OleMissRifle and on Instagram @OleMissRifle. Also follow head coach Valerie Boothe on Twitter at @ValerieBoothe.

OLE MISS AIR RIFLE RESULTS
Alison Weisz	595** (184.3 in final) Third Place
Jessica Haig	594* (78.3 in final) Eighth Place
Harley Gardner	581
Kristyn Trump	572
Allison Villa	571
TOTAL	2342

** Personal best and tied school record
* Personal best

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
TEAM	SMALLBORE	AIR RIFLE	AGGREGATE
1. West Virginia	2335	2367	4702
2. Kentucky	2314	2363	4677
3. NC State	2291	2360	2651
4. Army	2310	2338	4648
5. Ole Miss	2297	2342	4639
6. Nebraska	2300	2338	4638
7. Akron	2301	2323	4624
8. Memphis	2294	2325	4619
9. Navy	2283	2323	4606

AIR RIFLE FINAL
SHOOTER	TEAM	RESULT
1. Hanna Carr	Kentucky	206.0
2. Ginny Thrasher	West Virginia	205.9
3. Alison Weisz	Ole Miss	184.3
4. Lucas Kozenieskey	NC State	164.2
5. Jean-Pierre Lucas	West Virginia	140.6
6. Heather Kirby	Kentucky	119.0
7. Sonya May	Kentucky	98.8
8. Jessica Haig	Ole Miss	78.3

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Players Mentioned

Harley Gardner

Jessica Haig

Kristyn Trump

Allison Villa

Alison Weisz

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