COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Alaska Nanooks rifle team is returning home as the 2021-22 PRC Champions. They completed the weekend with a new program-record aggregate score of 4752. With that score, they also tied the current NCAA aggregate record, shot twice this season, once by TCU and once by Kentucky.

"Today, simply put, was outstanding." exclaimed head coach Will Anti, "The team was in the unique spot of sleeping on a lead and they came out today and performed extremely well. We've chatted a lot about the scenario and they carried out the mission. To hold a piece of the national record again is a great privilege. The entire team holds a piece of that record - they really operated as a succinct unit all weekend and fed off each other."  

On top of the team and national records, the Nanooks had a stellar individual weekend. Rylan Kissell fired off his second 600 in air rifle this weekend, becoming the first shooter since Nicco Campriani in 2011 to shoot multiple 600's in a single-season. Alongside Kissell, Kellen McAferty grabbed both individual titles in air and smallbore. Kissell took home the bronze in smallbore and silver in air rifle. Finally, five Nanooks are coming home with PRC All-Conference honors. Gavin Barnick, Sara Karasova, Rylan Kissell and Kellen McAferty were all named All-Conference selections in both air and three-point smallbore. Daniel Enger was the fifth Nanook to earn All-Conference honors, being named in the three-point smallbore discipline. 

Aggregate Team Scores/Finishes

1. Alaska - 4752
2. TCU - 4726
3. Ohio State - 4694
4. Air Force - 4689
5. Nebraska - 4670
6. UTEP - 4553

In the individual standings, the Nanooks took the top-three and top-four of five. To lead the way was Rylan Kissell. He shot an aggregate-score of 1190 (SB: 590 Air:600) while Gavin Barnick followed in second and Kellen McAferty followed in third. Barnick shot an 1189 with a smallbore score of 592 and air score of 597, a new personal-best. McAferty took third with an 1189 of his own. He shot a smallbore score of 593 and air score of 596. 

2022 Patriot Rifle Conference Champions with a record breaking weekend?

-new program aggregate record
-tied NCAA aggregate record
-new air rifle program record
-2nd perfect 600 air rifle from Rylan Kissell
-5 Nanooks earning All-Conference awards #NanookNation #RuletheNorth pic.twitter.com/71AsMXMDbm

— Alaska Rifle (@NanooksRifle) February 7, 2022

Day One Recap
At the end of day one, the Nanooks find themselves 18 points ahead of TCU, who is participating virtually due to inclement weather forcing them to not travel to Colorado Springs. 
 
Smallbore Standings

1. Alaska – 2363
2. TCU – 2345
3. Ohio State – 2326
4. Air Force – 2318
5. Nebraska – 2315
6. UTEP – 2240

 
In the individual standings, the Nanooks had the top three and five of the top six. Kellen McAferty shot a 593 for the top-spot and was followed by Gavin Barnick, who shot a 592. Rylan Kissell shot a 590, coming in third. Sara Karasova rounded out the top-five with a 588 and fifth-place finish. Daniel Enger took sixth with a 586. 
 
Five Nanooks made the finals and McAferty ended up with the individual PRC championship, winning the finals. Kissell ended with a third-place finish, Karasova took fourth and Barnick took seventh. Head coach Will Anti was pleased to see his overall team performance, as well as the individual performances, "I was really proud of the team's performance today. This is certainly a different format than a traditional college match and they adapted really well and basically thrived in the environment. They, once again, picked up some easy points in prone and I think realized there were points on the table in standing for some and kneeling for others. The mindset and determination today were the most impressive and encouraging thing for me - it was clear before the day began, they were hungry to perform. Kellen has had a lengthy and extremely successful career with the 'Nooks so shooting personal-bests at this stage is quite the accomplishment. He shot a great final to back it up. Congrats to him on being the individual conference champion and leading the group as they won the team portion as well. 
 
Gavin had another great performance - I'm continuously impressed by his growth and maturity match-to-match. Today was one of his most composed matches yet. Sara and Rylan were both strong across the board. I think they felt they left points out there but it was strong and if anything, it has them keyed up for some redemption in air. Daniel certainly hit a couple major road bumps today, but I think his ability to quickly rebound and adjust was displayed. Tomorrow will be a great test for us. I'm excited for the team to get the experience of sleeping on a lead."

Day Two Recap
On day two of the PRC Championships, the Nanooks locked up their first PRC Championship since the 2014-15 season. They used a 2389 in air to walk away with the top-spot. 

Kissell shot his second 600 of the season to take the top-spot in the individual air rifle standings. Gavin Barnick followed behind in third-place with a score of 597. Just missing out on the top-five were the final two scorers for the 'Nooks. Kellen McAferty finished in sixth-place behind his score of 596. Just behind him was Sara Karasova, finishing with a 596. 

Coach Anti was, once again, impressed by his team's performance, "Rylan led the group in air with a perfect 600. It wasn't effortless by any means - he was fighting from the start of sighters to the last shot. But his determination and maturity allowed him to execute - it was clear heading into the day he had a single-minded goal to clean the match. He joins a very elite club of athletes to shoot multiple collegiate 600s. Gavin shot another brilliant air match; his confidence and consistency in air continues to grow. He's relying more on his smarts and discipline than just raw ability and that is allowing him to be really consistent. I would say Sara's success today was also largely in part to her ability to adapt to the conditions of her hold - she finished the match strong and that has been an area of emphasis. Finally, Kellen shot a great match. He trusted his style. In fact, I tried to pull him off at one point and he let me know that he felt confident about what he was doing and continued to shoot. That shows confidence and self awareness."

McAferty's confidence showed again, as he went on to win the air rifle finals over his teammate, Rylan Kissell, who finished in second, earning the silver. "All in all thrilled with the weekend performance. We accomplished the mission and walked away with clear areas for improvement for everyone including the athletes and coaches - you can't ask for more." finished Anti.

Air Rifle Standings

1. Alaska – 2389
2. TCU – 2381
3. Air Force – 2371
4. Ohio State - 2368
5. Nebraska – 2355
6. UTEP – 2313

The Nanooks score of 2389 in the air rifle discipline bested their previous program-record of 2386 - a score they'd shot twice this season. 

Following the PRC Championships, the Nanooks will return home for their NCAA Qualifiers match against UTEP on Saturday, Feb. 19 at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range in the Patty Center. 

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