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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Rifle to Shoot in GARC Championships
2/23/2017 | Rifle
OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 13 Ole Miss rifle team will compete in their last contest of the 2016-17 season at the GARC Championships this weekend.
This will be the first time in 13 years, the Rebels will not host the GARC Championships, but instead will travel to Akron, Ohio to face eight teams including defending champion, West Virginia.
Noting the Rebels this Season
Senior Alison Weisz has led the Rebels all year as she posted two school records this season. She recorded a career-high and school-record 597 in air rifle in the match against Nebraska and then her 585 in smallbore and 595 in air at Jacksonville State added up to a personal-best and school-record 1180 aggregate. On Wednesday, Weisz earned her fourth consecutive NCAA bid and will compete in air rifle March 10-11 in Columbus, Ohio.
Junior Jessica Haig follows behind Weisz this year, as she too broke two personal bests this season. As a counter for every match this year, over half of Haig's scores fell above 589 in air and 571 in smallbore. She equaled her career high (594) in air against NC State which contributed to a career-high aggregate of 1172.
In addition to Weisz and Haig, sophomore Harley Gardner racked up three personal bests during the season. Gardner posted her career high in air rifle against Morehead State tallying a 592, which contributed to her overall aggregate career high of 1171. The next weekend, Gardner posted a career high in smallbore with a 586, the highest smallbore score shot by a Rebel this season.
The Rebels posted a season-high aggregate of 4655 against Jacksonville State, a result of their smallbore season high of 2313. This aggregate is just nine points off the school record. The Rebels will look to the GARC Championships this weekend to step up their aim and end the 2016-17 season on a high.
GARC Breakdown
Collectively, the Rebels finished fifth the past two years at the GARC Championships posting a team aggregate of 4613 (2015) and 4639 (2016), while Weisz took third in air rifle in 2016 with a 593. Here is a breakdown of each team that will be compete in the 2017 GARC Championships:
No. 2 West Virginia
- Finished first at the 2016 GARC Championships.
- Freshman standout and two-time NCAA Champion Ginny Thrasher is the defending champion in smallbore and an Olympic Gold Medalist at the Rio Games.
No. 6 Kentucky
- Top shooters: Hanna Carr (smallbore) and Sonya May (air rifle)
- Finished second at the 2016 GARC Championships.
- As a true freshman, Hannah Carr won the individual GARC title in air rifle last season.
- 2017 NCAA Championships participant.
No. 8 Nebraska
- Top shooters: Samantha Peterson (smallbore) and Dacotah Faught (air rifle).
- Finished sixth at the 2016 GARC Championships.
- 2017 NCAA Championships participant.
No. 9 NC State
- Top shooters: Lucas Kozeniesky (smallbore) and Caitlyn Ford (air rifle). Both will compete in their respective events at the NCAA Championships.
- Finished third at the 2016 GARC Championships.
No. 11 Memphis
- Top Shooters: Amy Fister (smallbore) and Haylea Broughton (air rifle).
- Finished eighth at the 2016 GARC Championships.
- Makennon Doran will compete in smallbore at NCAA Championships.
- Amy Fister will compete in smallbore at NCAA Championships.
No. 12 Army
- Top shooters: Payne Nunn (smallbore) and Nathan Brewer (air rifle).
- Finished fourth at the 2016 GARC Championships.
No. 15 Navy
- Top Shooters: Josh Watson and Kestrel Kuhne (smallbore) and Thomas Sarant (air rifle).
- Finished ninth at the 2016 GARC Championships.
No. 16 Akron
- Top Shooters: Julia Hatch (smallbore) and Zachary Strohl (air rifle).
- Finished seventh at the 2016 GARC Championships.
Marsha's Minute
"The Great America Rifle Conference is very competitive. We are fortunate to be a member and have the experience of shooting in a nine-team tournament run in the same format as the NCAA Championships," Beasley said. "In fact, three of the teams and six of the eight individual qualifiers in the NCAA Championships are from GARC. We have nine members competing this year and we will be looking to continue to improve our performances, both individually and as a team."
Live Scoring
Fans can follow the Rebels online with live scoring provided by Megalink and available to access through OleMissSports.com and GoZips.com.
For more information on Ole Miss Rifle, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissRifle, on Facebook at OleMissRifle and on Instagram @OleMissRifle.
