Murray State University Athletics
Friday, March 11
Akron, Ohio
8 a.m.
Murray State
vs
NCAA Smallbore
Players Mentioned
Racers Return To NCAA Looking For Third Title
3/9/2016 4:26:00 PM | Rifle
The Murray State rifle team will begin its quest for a third NCAA national championship on Friday when it opens competition at the 2016 NCAA Rifle National Championship at the Stile Athletics Field House in Akron, Ohio. The smallbore portion of the event will take place on Friday, followed by air rifle and the declaration of a champion Saturday.
The second-ranked Racers will be making their 30th appearance at the championship and second in as many years. They currently sit in second, along with Alaska-Fairbanks, in all-time appearances with West Virginia leading the way at 33.
Murray State currently has the second-highest smallbore average among the eight teams in the field at 2332.85, while its air rifle average ranks third at 2363.46. The Racers aggregate score is also the second-highest at 4696.31 with three-time defending champion West Virginia leading the way at 4713.46.
Joining MSU and West Virginia at this year's event will be Alaska-Fairbanks and TCU. The Racers' in-commonwealth rival Kentucky will also be in attendance, as will Air Force, Ohio State and Nebraska.
The Racers have claimed the NCAA national title on two different occasions, in 1985 and 1987, and finished as runners-up in 1986 and 1988. Outside of that four-year span, the best finish for Murray State as a team was in 1992 and in 2003 when it finished third.
While the ultimate prize is the team championship, there are individual national titles on the line as well, with the Racers having seven stored in their trophy case. Pat Spurgin is the only Racer to win both the smallbore and the air rifle titles, capturing the former in 1984 and the latter in 1985. Since then, no other MSU shooter has ever won the smallbore title, but five have won the air rifle crown, with the last being Morgan Hicks in 2004.
A senior, two sophomore and two freshmen will comprise Murray State's squad in their quest for a third national title in 2016. This year's OVC Smallbore and Co-Air Rifle Athlete of the Year sophomore Ivan Roe will lead the way for MSU as he currently average team highs in all three scores with a 585.7 in smallbore, a 592.0 in air rifle and a 1177.7 aggregate.
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Freshmen Barbara Schläpfer and MacKenzie Martin follow Roe at 1174.3 and 1174.1, respectively while sophomore Ben Estes is currently averaging an 1169.4 aggregate score with senior Tessa not far behind at 1168.0
Live scoring, provided by the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and live video, provided by the NCAA, will be available throughout the event with links posted at GoRacers.com.
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The second-ranked Racers will be making their 30th appearance at the championship and second in as many years. They currently sit in second, along with Alaska-Fairbanks, in all-time appearances with West Virginia leading the way at 33.
Murray State currently has the second-highest smallbore average among the eight teams in the field at 2332.85, while its air rifle average ranks third at 2363.46. The Racers aggregate score is also the second-highest at 4696.31 with three-time defending champion West Virginia leading the way at 4713.46.
Joining MSU and West Virginia at this year's event will be Alaska-Fairbanks and TCU. The Racers' in-commonwealth rival Kentucky will also be in attendance, as will Air Force, Ohio State and Nebraska.
The Racers have claimed the NCAA national title on two different occasions, in 1985 and 1987, and finished as runners-up in 1986 and 1988. Outside of that four-year span, the best finish for Murray State as a team was in 1992 and in 2003 when it finished third.
While the ultimate prize is the team championship, there are individual national titles on the line as well, with the Racers having seven stored in their trophy case. Pat Spurgin is the only Racer to win both the smallbore and the air rifle titles, capturing the former in 1984 and the latter in 1985. Since then, no other MSU shooter has ever won the smallbore title, but five have won the air rifle crown, with the last being Morgan Hicks in 2004.
A senior, two sophomore and two freshmen will comprise Murray State's squad in their quest for a third national title in 2016. This year's OVC Smallbore and Co-Air Rifle Athlete of the Year sophomore Ivan Roe will lead the way for MSU as he currently average team highs in all three scores with a 585.7 in smallbore, a 592.0 in air rifle and a 1177.7 aggregate.
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Freshmen Barbara Schläpfer and MacKenzie Martin follow Roe at 1174.3 and 1174.1, respectively while sophomore Ben Estes is currently averaging an 1169.4 aggregate score with senior Tessa not far behind at 1168.0
Live scoring, provided by the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and live video, provided by the NCAA, will be available throughout the event with links posted at GoRacers.com.
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