Results

MORGANTOWN, W.V. – The Alaska Nanooks coed rifle team completed day one of the 2019 NCAA Rifle National Championships on Friday afternoon, competing in the smallbore discipline at the WVU Coliseum.

In front of an NCAA Rifle National Championships attendance record of 1200, Alaska sits in eighth place in the team rankings after their first day of competition, with their top-four shooters compiling a smallbore total of 2287.

"It was quite different shooting in front of that large of a crowd, but fun at the same time," head coach Layne Lewis said on Friday. "The team is eager to show what we are made of in air rifle tomorrow."

Texas Christian University sits in first place with a team smallbore score of 2331, followed by West Virginia University (2331), University of Kentucky (2322), Murray State University (2320), Air Force Academy (2319), U.S. Naval Academy (2298) and Army West Point (2295).

In his NCAA Rifle Championships debut, freshman Kellan McAferty was the highest-ranking Nanook, placing 12th overall with a smallbore score of 581. McAferty shot 193 in kneeling, 198 in prone and 190 in standing, with 33 x's. McAferty's smallbore score only missed the final by three points.

Senior JT Schnering ranked second among his teammates, 20th overall with a smallbore total of 579. Junior Liam Eberhart was the third scoring Nanook with a 565, ranking him 41st overall, while redshirt-senior Robert Scott rounded-out Alaska's top-four scorers with a 562.

TCU's Elizabeth Marsh won the smallbore individual national championship title on Friday, scoring a match-high 588 in the preliminary round before earning a 456.9 in the final.

The Nanooks will close-out the 2019 NCAA Rifle National Championships tomorrow (Saturday, Mar. 9) with the first air rifle relay slated for 6am AKST at the WVU Coliseum.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks coed rifle team, follow @NanooksRifle on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Rifle team page on Facebook.