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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rifle Showed Out at Winter Air Gun Championships and Smallbore Olympic Trial
12/14/2023 | Rifle
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Ole Miss rifle landed three in the top-40 at the Winter Air Gun Championships and top-20 for the second smallbore Olympic Trial among the best in the nation. The Rebels sent eight current athletes and four signees to Colorado Springs.
The Air Gun Championships acted as the second Olympic trial for air rifle. Leading the way for Ole Miss was incoming freshman Gracie Dinh. The signee fired off a 625.2 on day one and a 625.6 on day two for a spot in the finals with a 1250.8 total. Despite going into the finals in eighth, Dinh battled against some of the nation's top competitors for fourth place overall. She would take the silver in the junior category.
The youth continued to excel as current freshman Regan Diamond finished in the top-30 with a two-match score of 1245.3. Diamond stepped up immediately by tying her highest score in air rifle, a 595 integer score, to a 623.9 decimal score. She came back the next day to shoot another mark above 620.
Six other Rebels made it into the top-75 out of 170 participants. Kristen Derting fired a 1241.4 for 39th place, and Julianna Hays got 53rd place, shooting a 1235.8. Emma Pereira and Katie Tedeschi took 58th and 59th place with scores of 1232.6 and 1231.7, respectively. Martina Gratz and M'Leah Lambdin rounded out the top-75.
The rest of the Ole Miss signees landed in the top-90, including Jordan de Jesus, just missing the top-75.
Immediately following the Winter Air Gun Championships, USA Shooting hosted the second trial for Olympic smallbore. After making the smallbore finals during the first trial, Dinh was again at the top of the leaderboards. The incoming freshman had the eighth-highest score on day one, hitting 587. However, she finished in 11th overall with an 1172.
Just a point behind, Diamond rattled off an 1171 for 14th place. The first match didn't go Diamond's way, shooting a 581. She turned things around the next day, firing her first-ever 590. Pereira was consistent, notching a 585 on both days, including a perfect prone score in match two. Pereira found herself just outside the top-15 in 16th.
The third and final air gun Olympic trial is set for January 5-7 in Anniston, Alabama. The final smallbore trial is after the collegiate rifle season on March 17-19 at Fort Moore.
For more information on Ole Miss rifle, follow the Rebels on Facebook (OleMissRifle), Twitter (@OleMissRifle), Instagram (@OleMissRifle), and at OleMissSports.com.
Players Mentioned
