Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
NCAA Qualifier
Rifle Finishes Fourth at NCAA Qualifier
2/24/2014 10:01:00 AM | Rifle
Three weeks before the NCAA tournament, Murray State rifle hosted the qualifying round for the championship. MSU welcomed six other teams, including three top five teams (No. 1 West Virginia, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Jacksonville St.), to Pat Spurgin Rifle Range for the teams' final chance to enter the tournament.
MSU shot a 4651, right at their season average, to finish fourth in the event and will not be one of the eight teams invited to the championship. No. 1 West Virginia fired the top score, 4691, followed by Nebraska (4678) and JSU (4660).
Following the match head coach Alan Lollar said, "I thought we had a good year. One of our goals is always to shoot as well at the qualifier as our three-match average. We were able to do that. The athletes worked hard and trained all year and gave it their best effort. We will wait for the official scores to be calculated and see if we have any individuals qualify for the NCAA Championship."
Kelsey Emme was the team's leading shooter in both smallbore and air rifle. Emme shot a personal best 586 in smallbore to finish tied for second out of 50 in the discipline. Emme finished her day with a 589 air rifle, just outside the top-10, tied for 11th overall.
Tessa Howald was the only other Racer to finish in a top-10 position. Howald shot 580 in the smallbore and finished tied for 10th overall.
Senior Bill Harvey finished his MSU career with a 572 smallbore and a season-best 584 air rifle. Katarina Bisercic fired a 587 air rifle, second for the Racers on the afternoon.
MSU's smallbore score was rounded out by Jack Berhorst (571) and Kaitlyn Wilson (562) while air rifle was completed by Berhorst (582) and Howald (579).
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