Feb. 16, 2009
Team Results 
Individual Results
Fairbanks, AK - The three-time defending national champion Alaska rifle team showed their dominance over The Citadel this past weekend in their NCAA qualifier as the Nanooks defeated the Bulldogs 4635-4400 on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The Nanooks started off the weekend with an impressive showing in the smallbore competition. The team of Patrik Sartz, Cody Rutter, William Galligan, and Jace Bures coasted to a 2308-2176 victory in the E.F. Horton Rifle Range.
Sartz' score of 584 was one of the top scores in the country according to head coach Dan Jordan. And although he was not apart of the team competition, Layne Lewis' second highest mark of the day at 582 should be high enough to qualify him for an individual birth at the NCAA Championships hosted by Texas Christian University in March.
Rutter was third overall in smallbore with a 580, while Bures shot 573, and Gallihan a 571. John Charleton of the Citadel was the only Bulldog shooter to make the finals with a score of 551.
Alaska picked up right where they left off in the air rifle competition Sunday afternoon in the Patty Gym. Sartz once again led the way for the Blue and Gold shooting a spectacular 593, his second highest score of the season. His best mark of the season came at the Palmyra Invitational where he shot a 597.
Sartz, along with Rutter, Gallighan, and Taylor Beard defeated The Citadel 2327-2224 in the team scoring. Rutter scored a 579 while Galligan shot 578, and Beard 577.
As in smallbore, Layne Lewis posted the second highest score of the day. He and Bures both shot a 581.
It is on to the NCAA Championships for the Nanooks as they will aim to bring a fourth consecutive title back to Fairbanks. The official standings of the NCAA qualifiers will be available next week, but regardless of where the Blue and Gold are ranked heading in, they will head to TCU with a bulls-eye on their back.
