Murray State University Athletics
Friday, January 20
Spurgin Rifle Range
8 a.m.
Murray State
vs
Murray State
Players Mentioned
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics
Martin, Sellars Lead Racers To Withrow Victory
1/22/2017 5:01:00 PM | Rifle
Sophomores MacKenzie Martina and Alathea Sellars shot identical scores of 1182 to propel the third-ranked Murray State rifle team to a win in 2017 Withrow Open over the weekend at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range in Murray, Kentucky.
Murray State has now won the event in each of the past three years and its total team score of 4706, marked the Racers sixth-straight 4700-plus performance this season. MSU beat out nine other teams in the event, including seven of which are currently ranked in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Top 20.
"First, I want to thank all the teams and individuals that competed and made the Withrow Open a success," said Murray State head coach and match director Alan Lollar. "We were also happy to have Roger Withrow in town for the match. It's always good to see our alumni, we would not be here without them."Â
"I was really looking forward to this weekend," continued Lollar. "It is a big part of our maturing process. Without Ivan, who is in Europe with the U.S. National Team, they all stepped up and competed with the best. Tis was our sixth straight match over 4700 our shooters are training hard and it is showing up on match day."
Current MSU leading shooter Ivan Roe did not compete in the event, as he is currently away competing in the annual Bavarian Airgun Championships in Munich, Germany.
Martin and Sellars each shot a 587 in smallbore and a 595 in air rifle to lead all shooters in the event, along with North Carolina State's Lucas Kozeniesky, with an aggregate score of 1182. The smallbore, air rifle and aggregate score were all career bests for Martin, while Sellars also set a new personal best for aggregate score.
"Kenzie posted a new PR in smallbore and tied her PR in air rifle, she is really becoming consistent. She has a great work ethic.Alathea just rocked it this weekend. Her 584 smallbore was really smooth and she becoming more comfortable all the time."
Junior Robert Broadstreet used a 584 smallbore and a 592 air rifle to finish fourth amongst all shooters with an 1176 total score. Meanwhile, sophomore Barbara Schläpfer shot a 579 in smallbore and a 587 in air rifle to finish the event with an 1166 aggregate and junior Ben Estes posted a total of 1163 with a 576 smallbore and a 587 air rifle to round out MSU's squaded shooters.
"Bobby has shown for two weeks in a row that he is ready. It's really fun to watch him shoot, knowing the work he has put in and Barbara was solid, as well. She has been working on some things and I think she is getting ready to post some nice scores"
Sophomore Eric Sloan led the individuals for Murray State with a trio of season-highs including a career-best 580 in smallbore, a 584 in air rifle and a career-high 1164 aggregate. Freshman Meike Drewell followed closely behind Sloan with a 579 in air rifle and a 584 in air rifle for an 1163 total. Shelby Huber rounded out the event for MSU with an 1151 after shooting a 568 in smallbore and a 583 in air rifle.
 "Eric made some big strides and had a very solid weekend with a new PR in smallbore. Meike, Ben and Shelby all had solid days they can build on."Â
The Racers will now have one week off before returning to action Feb. 4-5 at the 2017 OVC Rifle Championships in Morehead, Kentucky. Murray State will enter the event looking for its 12th conference title overall and second in a row.
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Murray State has now won the event in each of the past three years and its total team score of 4706, marked the Racers sixth-straight 4700-plus performance this season. MSU beat out nine other teams in the event, including seven of which are currently ranked in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Top 20.
"First, I want to thank all the teams and individuals that competed and made the Withrow Open a success," said Murray State head coach and match director Alan Lollar. "We were also happy to have Roger Withrow in town for the match. It's always good to see our alumni, we would not be here without them."Â
"I was really looking forward to this weekend," continued Lollar. "It is a big part of our maturing process. Without Ivan, who is in Europe with the U.S. National Team, they all stepped up and competed with the best. Tis was our sixth straight match over 4700 our shooters are training hard and it is showing up on match day."
Current MSU leading shooter Ivan Roe did not compete in the event, as he is currently away competing in the annual Bavarian Airgun Championships in Munich, Germany.
Martin and Sellars each shot a 587 in smallbore and a 595 in air rifle to lead all shooters in the event, along with North Carolina State's Lucas Kozeniesky, with an aggregate score of 1182. The smallbore, air rifle and aggregate score were all career bests for Martin, while Sellars also set a new personal best for aggregate score.
"Kenzie posted a new PR in smallbore and tied her PR in air rifle, she is really becoming consistent. She has a great work ethic.Alathea just rocked it this weekend. Her 584 smallbore was really smooth and she becoming more comfortable all the time."
Junior Robert Broadstreet used a 584 smallbore and a 592 air rifle to finish fourth amongst all shooters with an 1176 total score. Meanwhile, sophomore Barbara Schläpfer shot a 579 in smallbore and a 587 in air rifle to finish the event with an 1166 aggregate and junior Ben Estes posted a total of 1163 with a 576 smallbore and a 587 air rifle to round out MSU's squaded shooters.
"Bobby has shown for two weeks in a row that he is ready. It's really fun to watch him shoot, knowing the work he has put in and Barbara was solid, as well. She has been working on some things and I think she is getting ready to post some nice scores"
Sophomore Eric Sloan led the individuals for Murray State with a trio of season-highs including a career-best 580 in smallbore, a 584 in air rifle and a career-high 1164 aggregate. Freshman Meike Drewell followed closely behind Sloan with a 579 in air rifle and a 584 in air rifle for an 1163 total. Shelby Huber rounded out the event for MSU with an 1151 after shooting a 568 in smallbore and a 583 in air rifle.
 "Eric made some big strides and had a very solid weekend with a new PR in smallbore. Meike, Ben and Shelby all had solid days they can build on."Â
The Racers will now have one week off before returning to action Feb. 4-5 at the 2017 OVC Rifle Championships in Morehead, Kentucky. Murray State will enter the event looking for its 12th conference title overall and second in a row.
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