Murray State University Athletics
Hicks places 12th at Olympics, highest score among Americans
8/20/2004 5:00:00 AM | Rifle
Hicks, a native of Roy, Wash., fired a 577 out of a possible 600 in the preliminary round, just two points behind the eight-shooter cut for the final round at 579.
Kazakhstan's Olga Dovgun had a preliminary-round best 588, but placed fourth after the final round was shot. Earning medals were Russia's Lioubov Galkina, who won gold with a preliminary score of 587 and a final-round score of 101.4 for a final tally of 688.4; Italy's Valentina Turisini, who earned silver with a preliminary score of 585 and a final-round score of 100.9 for a final tally of 685.9; and China's Chengyi Wang, who shot a preliminary-round score of 584 and a final-round score of 101.4 for a final tally of 685.4.
Hicks' preliminary-round score of 577 was the best among the American shooters and the best among shooters from the Western Hemisphere.
Hicks is the first Olympian from Murray State in 16 years. Pat Spurgin, who won the gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, was the first known Olympian from MSU. She, William Beard and Mary Anne Schweitzer all competed in the 1984 Olympics, while Roger Withrow competed in the 1984 Paralympics in L.A. Deena Wigger competed in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Hicks is an eight-time All-American, earning those honors in both smallbore and air rifle in each of her four seasons of competition at Murray State. She is the 2004 NCAA air rifle champion, a title she earned at the NCAA Championships, shot at Murray State last March.
On Fox Sports Net South
Hicks will be featured on FSN's monthly magazine program "NCAA on Campus," which airs Wednesday, Aug. 25, at 1 p.m. CT and again on Monday, Aug. 30, at 1:30 p.m. CT, a replay of the show which aired on Aug. 14. This month, the program will focus on college student-athletes competing in the Olympic Summer Games in Athens, Greece. Hicks, the 2004 NCAA Air Rifle Champion, is expected to be the United States' best chance for earning a gold medal in rifle. She is the second Racer to represent USA Shooting in the summer Olympics, following Pat Spurgin's gold-medal-winning performance at the '84 games.
