Jan. 21, 2008
By Matias Saari
Staff Writer
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Published January 21, 2008
The Palmyra Invitational is unique in that it is shot over three or four weekends, with many of the top college rifle teams in the country participating.
There is one weekend to go, but the Alaska Nanooks already know one thing for certain: they won't be taking the title this year.
Alaska shot 4,636, good for a second-place tie with Kentucky. Army is in the lead with 4,644 points. The Wildcats and Black Knights are expected to be Alaska's primary competition at the NCAA Championships in March.
Coach Dan Jordan isn't overly concerned about not taking Palmyra.
"If I would have picked the right four people in both guns, we would have picked up about 25 points," Jordan said by telephone Sunday night.
The Nanooks brought eight shooters on their four-match road trip, but only four comprise a team score in smallbore and air rifle disciplines while the others shoot as individuals.
Consistency remains an issue for the young Nanooks.
"Same thing whole season -- a couple of them shoot good, a couple of them not so good," Jordan said. "They can all shoot the score. Now it's just getting them to shoot it consistently."
The Nanooks performed well in Palmyra, Pa., as a team in air rifle, tallying 2,347, the top score so far at the meet attended by teams from the junior high to college levels. Swedes Christofer Olofsson (592) and Patrik Sartz (589) led the way, followed by freshmen Cody Rutter with 587 and Taylor Beard with 579. Shooting as an individual, Ida Petersen rang up a 589.
Smallbore, meanwhile, was a bit of a struggle.
Sartz, who is tied for first in the overall individual match, scored 581, while Olofsson shot 576, Rutter had 573 and Jace Bures recorded a subpar 559. The Nanooks' 2,289 smallbore score ranks behind both Army and Kentucky.
"With such a young team (four sophomores and four freshmen), they need more match experience to learn how to handle that pressure," Jordan said.
But the Nanooks don't have to wait long to take on Army head-to-head, as Alaska travels to West Point, N.Y., for a showdown on Tuesday. At last season's NCAAs at the Patty Center, the Nanooks won their eighth title in nine years while Army was runner-up.
Army is hosting the championships March 14-15.
"It's a really nice range. It always brings out the best in both teams," Jordan said. "In the last couple years, we have shot some of our best scores there, and so have they."
