FAIRBANKS — Ida Petersen has shot exceptionally high rifle scores in practice before. Doing so under pressure is another thing entirely.
On Saturday in the air rifle competition against Texas El Paso, the Alaska Nanooks sophomore from Fairbanks posted 595 points (of 600) and at one point nailed about 25 bull’s eyes in a row.
“Ida shot phenomenal in air gun, so that’s really cool,” Nanooks coach Dan Jordan said.
Petersen’s performance at the Patty Center was even five points better than her teammate Patrik Sartz, the defending NCAA air rifle champion. The duo led the Nanooks to a 42-point win in air rifle and a 4,662-4,599 dual meet victory over UTEP.
Petersen has shot 599 in practice before but her previous best in a match was 589.
“She can shoot big, big scores,” Jordan said. “It’s a matter of getting her head and getting some confidence.”
Saturday’s result will go a long way toward that. The West Valley High School graduate opened with a 98 string, then followed with a pair of perfect 100s before continuing with a 99, 98 and closing with another 100.
Her three 100 strings matched the number achieved by her teammates Sartz, Cody Rutter (587) and Taylor Beard (582) combined. UTEP’s highest score was 583 and its four shooters only put up a single 100 string.
“I talked with (Petersen) a bunch about getting confidence. ... Either regaining composure when you start to struggle or staying comfortable when you string together some 10s,” Jordan said.
Another boost to Petersen’s confidence came when she shot well this summer at the U.S. Nationals in Colorado and was named to the U.S. National Development Team, Jordan said.
Sartz had two average strings — a 97 and 96 — that bumped his score to a still respectable 590.
“He struggled a little bit today,” Jordan said. “But he’s tough to beat. Ida had her day.”
Sartz’s consolation prize was a win in a fun double-elimination competition that took place between the air rifle and smallbore events. With 10 shooters on the line simultaneously, the crowd was permitted to make noise and even heckle them. The shooter with the lowest score (after their second time) was eliminated until only Sartz and Petersen remained.
“Then Patrik won the final shot,” Jordan said.
In the afternoon’s smallbore event, the Nanooks scored 2,308 to UTEP’s 2,287.
Rutter led the way on the four-person team with 579, while Layne Lewis of Fairbanks scored 578, Sartz had 577 and Billy Galligan tallied 574.
“Nobody even broke 580 so everybody struggled a little bit,” Jordan said. “We have so much depth, six shooters (shot) all in the 570s, so that bodes well for the future.”
The Nanooks’ immediate future will consist of nearly a month of training — working on endurance to make all 60 shots count will be a focus — before their next meet on Oct. 24 against Kentucky at the Patty Center.
That’s a match the Nanooks’ have circled on their calendar: It was the Wildcats who last year broke Alaska’s nearly two-year dual meet winning streak. The Nanooks, however, made up for it in March by topping Kentucky and other top teams to win their third straight NCAA Championship.
