Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
UT Martin
Players Mentioned
Racers Shoot Three-Year High Against UTM
10/17/2021 11:43:00 PM | Rifle
Aggregate of 4715 is 9th best score nationally this season
The eighth-ranked Murray State rifle team posted a three-year high aggregate score Sunday at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range in Murray, Kentucky, taking down UT Martin, 4715-4591.
"Friday we took a step toward getting better and today we took another," said head coach Alan Lollar after the match. "Success for a rifle team is tied closely to consistency. So far this year we have had pieces of the puzzle, but not the whole picture. Today we came closer to the consistency we need. In smallbore, we didn't have anything particularly great, but when you put together a 588, a 585, a 584 and a 585 it adds up to a good day."
"I like to bring things from other sports to rifle," Lollar continued." "Former Racer football coach Denver Johnson would talk to his teams about G.A.P. plays. Game altering plays. The moments that can change the whole day. The same thing happens every match for us, there are moments, that when handled correctly can make all the difference and we had a lot of those today."
The Racers posted season-highs with all three scores Sunday using a 2341 smallbore and a 2374 air rifle for an aggregate of 4715. Sunday's aggregate was the highest for Murray State since firing a 4716 against Jacksonville State in November of 2018 and is currently the ninth best aggregate score in the nation so far this season.
Matias Kiuru and Scott Patterson led all shooters in the match with an aggregate of 1180 with Patters also leading the match in smallbore at 588 and Kiuru. However, Patterson and Kiuru weren't the only ones with big performances Sunday, as five Racers set new or tied their previous career highs in smallbore. Additionally, four Racers either met or set new career marks in air rifle, while four Racers also set new career bests for aggregate scores.
Scott Patterson shot career-highs in all three categories (588 [SB], 592 [AR], 1180 [Agg.], while Dana Buesseler tied her previous highs in smallbore (584) and air rifle (591) and set a new career-high in aggregate (1175). Emily Fitzgerald (580), Zach Jackson (572) and Noelle Meals (565) all set new career marks in smallbore, while Kylie Wright (593) matched her personal best in air rifle and John Blanton (595) surpassed his. Rounding out the career days for Murray State were Jackson and Wright who set new career marks in aggregate scoring at 1155 and 1171, respectively.
After four matches in eight days, the Murray State rifle team will take some well-earned time off before traveling to Columbus, Ohio in two weeks for a pair of matches with Ohio State Nov. 6 and Akron Nov. 7.
