Saturday, February 5
JACKSONVILLE
9 a.m.
Jacksonville State University
vs
OVC Championships
Gamecock Rifle Finishes Second In OVC Championships; JSU Wins Air Rifle Competition
2/6/2011 3:24:09 PM | Rifle
JACKSONVILLE – In what came down to the final moments, Jacksonville State's rifle team came up short on the final day of the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference Rifle Championships, finishing second to Murray State on Sunday at the Gamecock Rifle Range.
The Racers finished with an aggregate score of 4661, while JSU turned in a final mark of 4648.
Trailing the Racers by 14 points after the smallbore competition on Saturday, Jax State made a surging charge in the air rifle portion to claim the 2011 OVC Air Rifle crown. Murray State's Saturday performance bolstered its claim to the overall championship for the second-straight year and the 10th title in the program's history. JSU was one point better than MSU in air rifle, 2341-2340.
“Murray State was leading by a good margin after the first day (smallbore competition) and we knew it was going to be a real chore to try and bridge that gap. After the first of two relays of air rifle on day two, we closed that gap by a considerable margin,” said JSU Head Coach Ron Frost. “I'm pretty sure Murray's coach was sweating bullets at that time. However, when that second (and last) relay was under way, on which both Murray and JSU had two shooters, they were again able to increase their lead.”
JSU's OVC Air Rifle Championships was the program's sixth since joining the conference in 2004. JSU junior Andrea Dardas claimed the 2011 OVC Smallbore Athlete of the Year award, while Gamecock freshman Sam Muegge was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Year along with earning a spot on the OVC Smallbore Second Team. Jordan Fraser joined Muegge on the OVC All-Newcomer Team. Muegge becomes Jax State's first Freshman of the Year since Christensen in 2009. JSU's Brian Carstensen and Monica Fyfe were named to the 2011 OVC Air Rifle Second Team. Kayla Carstensen finished strong to grab a spot on the OVC Air Rifle First Team.
Dardas had an impressive weekend as the Essexville, Mich.-native garnered spots on both the All-OVC Smallbore First Team and the OVC Air Rifle First Team. Dardas also became the third-straight Gamecock to claim OVC Smallbore Athlete of the Year honors as Carstensen won the award in back-to-back seasons.
“I'm still proud of what our shooters accomplished. They did a great job....an exceptional job considering the pressure they were under. Last year was a rebuilding year, and the team has shown that they are steadily improving. This was of course, a high pressure match in which many shooters traditionally shoot well below their averages because of the pressure. That was not the case for us this year, in fact almost everyone shot above their averages and there were even some personal bests shown in this match, and the final score ended up being above our season average,” added Frost.
Murray State's Kaitlin Cleven won the 2011 OVC Air Rifle Athlete of the Year, while UT Martin's Bob Beard was selected by his peers as the 2011 OVC Coach of the Year.
Jax State looks to strengthen its case for the NCAA Championships next weekend at the NCAA qualifying meet in Murray, Ky. The 2011 NCAA Men's and Women's Championship will be contested in Columbus, Ga. on March 9-12.
The Racers finished with an aggregate score of 4661, while JSU turned in a final mark of 4648.
Trailing the Racers by 14 points after the smallbore competition on Saturday, Jax State made a surging charge in the air rifle portion to claim the 2011 OVC Air Rifle crown. Murray State's Saturday performance bolstered its claim to the overall championship for the second-straight year and the 10th title in the program's history. JSU was one point better than MSU in air rifle, 2341-2340.
“Murray State was leading by a good margin after the first day (smallbore competition) and we knew it was going to be a real chore to try and bridge that gap. After the first of two relays of air rifle on day two, we closed that gap by a considerable margin,” said JSU Head Coach Ron Frost. “I'm pretty sure Murray's coach was sweating bullets at that time. However, when that second (and last) relay was under way, on which both Murray and JSU had two shooters, they were again able to increase their lead.”
JSU's OVC Air Rifle Championships was the program's sixth since joining the conference in 2004. JSU junior Andrea Dardas claimed the 2011 OVC Smallbore Athlete of the Year award, while Gamecock freshman Sam Muegge was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Year along with earning a spot on the OVC Smallbore Second Team. Jordan Fraser joined Muegge on the OVC All-Newcomer Team. Muegge becomes Jax State's first Freshman of the Year since Christensen in 2009. JSU's Brian Carstensen and Monica Fyfe were named to the 2011 OVC Air Rifle Second Team. Kayla Carstensen finished strong to grab a spot on the OVC Air Rifle First Team.
Dardas had an impressive weekend as the Essexville, Mich.-native garnered spots on both the All-OVC Smallbore First Team and the OVC Air Rifle First Team. Dardas also became the third-straight Gamecock to claim OVC Smallbore Athlete of the Year honors as Carstensen won the award in back-to-back seasons.
“I'm still proud of what our shooters accomplished. They did a great job....an exceptional job considering the pressure they were under. Last year was a rebuilding year, and the team has shown that they are steadily improving. This was of course, a high pressure match in which many shooters traditionally shoot well below their averages because of the pressure. That was not the case for us this year, in fact almost everyone shot above their averages and there were even some personal bests shown in this match, and the final score ended up being above our season average,” added Frost.
Murray State's Kaitlin Cleven won the 2011 OVC Air Rifle Athlete of the Year, while UT Martin's Bob Beard was selected by his peers as the 2011 OVC Coach of the Year.
Jax State looks to strengthen its case for the NCAA Championships next weekend at the NCAA qualifying meet in Murray, Ky. The 2011 NCAA Men's and Women's Championship will be contested in Columbus, Ga. on March 9-12.
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