Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Smallbore
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Racers Head To Rockies In Search of NCAA Glory
3/10/2022 8:31:00 PM | Rifle
In 34th appearance, Racers look for third national title
On Friday, the Murray State rifle team will begin its quest for the third NCAA title in program history when they travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado for the 2022 NCAA Rifle Championships March 11-12 at Clune Arena on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy.
Making its 34 appearance in the championship, the third most in NCAA history, MSU will enter the final event of the 2021-22 season seeking its third NCAA national title and first since 1987.
Among the Racers' competition in Colorado are defending champions Kentucky, top-seeded Alaska Fairbanks and host Air Force. Others rounding out the eight-team field this year include TCU, Ole Miss, West Virginia and Navy.
The 2021-22 season has already been one for the record books and the Racers will look to keep that going at the USAF Academy. Murray State tied its program record air rifle score in November with a 2379, before setting a new mark for aggregate scoring with a 4724 in January. In February, the Racers further cemented their place in the record books by capturing the school's 16th OVC championship.
Junior Matias Kiuru currently leads the Racers as they head into the championship with team-high averages of 585.9 in smallbore, 593.9 in air rifle and 1179.8 in aggregate. The 2022 OVC Freshman of the Year John Blanton follows Kiuru air rifle at 593.6 and aggregate at 1175.0, while sophomore Scott Patterson is second for MSU in smallbore 582.7. Also competing for the Racers at the USAF Academy are senior Dana Buesseler and freshman Zach Jackson.
