LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Sagen Maddalena continued her hot streak of late, as she picked up a pair of wins in the 50m air rifle this weekend for the Alaska Nanooks rifle team, who was competing at the NCAA Championship Rehearsal Meet on Saturday and at No. 5 Kentucky on Sunday.
Maddalena built on her strong performance at Akron on Thursday, as she turned in her second-straight 598 finish in the 50m air rifle at the NCAA Rehearsal to win the event on Saturday. She again shot a 598 for the third time this week, to add another first-place finish this season for the Groveland, California native at No. 5 Kentucky.
Despite the Maddalena's first place finishes, the Alaska Nanooks rifle team was unable to come away with a victory in their last two meets of the three-meet weekend, as they finished fourth at the NCAA Rehearsal on Saturday and fell at No. 5 Kentucky on Sunday.
The second-ranked team in the nation went head-to-head with four of the five top-ranked teams in the nation on Saturday, as they were on the line against No. 1 West Virginia, No. 4 Murray State and No. 5 Kentucky. The Nanooks would finish fourth in both the air rifle and smallbore, shooting a 2,354 and a 2,326, respectively, to compile a score of 4,680. Maddalena was also the team's top finisher in the smallbore, as she posted a 584 to finish seventh. The Wildcats pulled the upset on Saturday, as they finished first in both events to score a 4,370 and win the Rehearsal Meet.
Alaska had a chance at redemption on Sunday, as they traveled to Kentucky to take on the No. 5-ranked team in the nation for a second-straight day, but the result would remain the same, as the No. 2 Nanooks fell 4,702-4686.
Senior Tim Sherry joined Maddalena in the top-five in the air rifle at UK, as he scored a 592 to finish in a third-place tie with Kentucky's Hannah Carr and Heather Kirby. As a team, Alaska shot 2,359 in the event. Sophomore Luke Johnson collected a second-place finish in the smallbore with his 585, tying him with UK All-American Connor Davis. Sherry also had a top-five finish in the smallbore, as his score of 584 was good enough for fourth. Alaska completed the event with a 2,327.
The Alaska Nanooks rifle team will take the rest of 2015 off, as they'll return to action on Jan. 10, 2016 to participate in the Palmyra Invitational at Palmyra, Pennsylvania.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks Rifle team, follow @NanooksRifle on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Rifle on Facebook.
