The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ali Weisz Sets Sights on U.S. Air Rifle Olympic Trials, Feb. 7-9
2/7/2020 | Rifle
<i class="icon-stats"></i> Live Targets<i class="icon-calendar"></i> Schedule (MST)<i class="icon-paper"></i> Current Results<i class="icon-paper"></i> Full Selection Procedure<i class="icon-paper"></i> Part I Recap
Ole Miss Rifle Alum Seeks Spot on 2020 U.S. Olympic Shooting Team
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss rifle alum Ali Weisz sets her sights on making history during final qualification at the U.S. Air Rifle Olympic Trials, Part II, Feb. 7-9 in Colorado Springs.
Competitors from across the country are traveling to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center this weekend to earn one of four spots (two per gender) on the USA Shooting Team for air rifle and represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Friday will feature Pre-Event Training where the athletes will practice ahead of the event. Competition begins on Saturday and Sunday with two rounds of fire, beginning at 12 p.m. CT both days.
Qualification begins to heat up when the top eight shooters look to add crucial points in the final round slated for a 3:30 p.m. Sunday start. The men's field will compete each day at 10 a.m. with a 2:30 p.m. Sunday finale.
Live targets can be tracked with the link provided as well as live updates from the @OleMissRifle Twitter account.
Weisz, a member of the Ole Miss rifle team from 2013-17, is seeking to become the first in program history to compete at the Olympic Games. She would also become the first woman to qualify after attending the University of Mississippi.
Scores from Part II of the Olympic Trials will be added with totals from Part I, fired during the 2019 Winter Airgun Championships in December.
The Belgrade, Montana, native sits in second place going into Part II with 1256.0 points, which is right behind GARC foe Kentucky's Mary Tucker, and her 1256.4 total. Just outside the coveted top-two spots for qualification of the 10-meter women's air rifle squad is Sarah Beard (1255.1), a graduate of TCU.
Rounding out the top five are Minden Miles (1253.6), another Horned Frog at TCU, and Sagen Maddalena (1251.6), an alum of Alaska Fairbanks.
The defending Olympic Gold Medalist in the event, Ginny Thrasher, a national champion at her alma mater, WVU, sits sixth with 1250.0 points
Weisz claimed the Silver Medal at the 2019 Winter Airgun Championships, which doubled as Part I of the U.S. Olympic Trials. She sat in fourth place after day one with 624.4 points but returned the following day with the highest score amongst the 215 competitors with a remarkable 629.6. Weisz added two more points with a fourth-place finish in the eight-person finals.
Prior to December's action, Weisz became the first Ole Miss Rebel to win a Women's Air Rifle Gold Medal at the Pan American Games in early August. At the 2018 Winter Airgun Championships, Weisz also set the American women's 60-shot qualification record en route to her first Gold Medal in the competition.
The University of Mississippi has a strong tradition of athletes donning the Stars and Stripes at the Olympic Games. In total, 10 have competed on the world stage, including eight in track and field, one in basketball, and one in shooting.
Tony Rosetti attended the university and qualified for the 1972 Summer Olympics as a member of the USA Shooting Team for shotgun in skeet before Ole Miss added rifle as an official NCAA sport in 1996.
The USA Shooting Team will consist of eight total athletes for rifle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There will be four shooters for air rifle and four for smallbore, including two for each gender. The Olympics will feature men's, women's, and mixed team competitions in 50-meter smallbore and 10-meter air rifle.
For more information on Ole Miss Rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle), and at olemisssports.com.
Competitors from across the country are traveling to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center this weekend to earn one of four spots (two per gender) on the USA Shooting Team for air rifle and represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Friday will feature Pre-Event Training where the athletes will practice ahead of the event. Competition begins on Saturday and Sunday with two rounds of fire, beginning at 12 p.m. CT both days.
Qualification begins to heat up when the top eight shooters look to add crucial points in the final round slated for a 3:30 p.m. Sunday start. The men's field will compete each day at 10 a.m. with a 2:30 p.m. Sunday finale.
Live targets can be tracked with the link provided as well as live updates from the @OleMissRifle Twitter account.
Weisz, a member of the Ole Miss rifle team from 2013-17, is seeking to become the first in program history to compete at the Olympic Games. She would also become the first woman to qualify after attending the University of Mississippi.
Scores from Part II of the Olympic Trials will be added with totals from Part I, fired during the 2019 Winter Airgun Championships in December.
The Belgrade, Montana, native sits in second place going into Part II with 1256.0 points, which is right behind GARC foe Kentucky's Mary Tucker, and her 1256.4 total. Just outside the coveted top-two spots for qualification of the 10-meter women's air rifle squad is Sarah Beard (1255.1), a graduate of TCU.
Rounding out the top five are Minden Miles (1253.6), another Horned Frog at TCU, and Sagen Maddalena (1251.6), an alum of Alaska Fairbanks.
The defending Olympic Gold Medalist in the event, Ginny Thrasher, a national champion at her alma mater, WVU, sits sixth with 1250.0 points
Weisz claimed the Silver Medal at the 2019 Winter Airgun Championships, which doubled as Part I of the U.S. Olympic Trials. She sat in fourth place after day one with 624.4 points but returned the following day with the highest score amongst the 215 competitors with a remarkable 629.6. Weisz added two more points with a fourth-place finish in the eight-person finals.
Prior to December's action, Weisz became the first Ole Miss Rebel to win a Women's Air Rifle Gold Medal at the Pan American Games in early August. At the 2018 Winter Airgun Championships, Weisz also set the American women's 60-shot qualification record en route to her first Gold Medal in the competition.
The University of Mississippi has a strong tradition of athletes donning the Stars and Stripes at the Olympic Games. In total, 10 have competed on the world stage, including eight in track and field, one in basketball, and one in shooting.
Tony Rosetti attended the university and qualified for the 1972 Summer Olympics as a member of the USA Shooting Team for shotgun in skeet before Ole Miss added rifle as an official NCAA sport in 1996.
The USA Shooting Team will consist of eight total athletes for rifle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There will be four shooters for air rifle and four for smallbore, including two for each gender. The Olympics will feature men's, women's, and mixed team competitions in 50-meter smallbore and 10-meter air rifle.
For more information on Ole Miss Rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle), and at olemisssports.com.
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