COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Alaska Nanooks rifle team currently sits in second-place after day one of the NCAA Rifle Championships at the United States Air Force Academy. On day one, the field shot the smallbore discipline and the 'Nooks finished second with a score of 2351. 

"In all honesty, today was a little scrappy. Certainly, it wasn't a poor performance, but it was one of those days that despite everyone following their process and working diligently, things didn't quite come together in the way we've come accustomed to." said head coach Will Anti after day one of the NCAA Rifle Championships, "Shots that usually go in just seemed to go out today. Certainly it happens, we've been fortunate to have very few of those moments this season. Obviously, the timing isn't ideal but I didn't feel that our athletes left any points on the table. They scrapped for everything possible. We were proud of the work they did."

Top Five After Day One

1. Kentucky: 2,360 points
2. Alaska: 2,351 points
3. TCU: 2,350 points
4. Air Force: 2,342 points
5. Ole Miss: 2,337 points

The Nanooks were split between three relays throughout the day. In relay one, Gavin Barnick and Rylan Kissell shot first. The freshman duo posted scores of 583 and 591, respectively. Barnick began the day with a 96/95 (191) split in kneeling while Kissell shot a 98/99 (197) split. Both shot a perfect 200 in prone-position, entering standing with scores of 391 and 397. Barnick ended standing with a 94/98 (192), tallying his 583. Kissell fired off a 96 in his first 10 shots before bouncing back with a 98 for his final score of 591. This score qualified him for the individual final.

Sara Karasova was the only Nanook to shoot in the second-relay. The final freshman for the Nanooks to shoot at the NCAA Championships posted a score of 585. Karasova began the day with a 95/98 (193) split in kneeling before firing off a 199 in prone-position. Following her near-perfect prone, she ended with a 95/98 (193) split in standing, finishing the day with the third-best Alaska score. The final two shooters for the Nanooks were Daniel Enger and Kellen McAferty. Enger shot the second-best smallbore score for the Nanooks, ending the day with a 589 and qualifying for the individual finals. Enger started with a 100/98 (198) split in kneeling before shooting a 199 in prone. He ended with a 97/95 (192) split in standing. McAferty started hot as well, earning a 99/98 (197) kneeling score before firing a 98/100 (198) split in prone. To end the day, he shot a 96/95 split (191) and ended with a 586. Anti spoke on his team's highlights from day one, "Rylan has been a beacon of consistency and led the group today. His slings were outstanding. He has really focused on slings this semester and it was nice to see him rewarded. Daniel was another highlight from the day. Aside from shooting a great match I think it was one of the most personally gratifying moments I've seen someone have. Daniel has dealt with nerves and anxiousness standing in the way of him performing in these types of matches and today I think he put a lot of those demons to bed. He really worked methodically throughout the match and was very honest about how he was handling the nerves as they came. It resulted in him finishing his smallbore career as one of the best in the country, which is where he belongs. It's a huge growth moment - really a breakthrough."

Daniel Enger and Rylan Kissell advanced to the individual finals and Kissell finished with the bronze medal, ending in third-place. Enger shot well and grabbed a sixth-place individual final finish. "In the final, both shooters had solid slings. Standing was up and down with moments of brilliance sprinkled in. It was great to see Rylan come away with a bronze medal finishing only behind an Olympic champ and Olympic silver medalist. I know Rylan wants more though - he always wants the highest step on the podium. He will use this as fuel no doubt." said Anti on his team's two finalists.

Heading into the final day of the NCAA Rifle Championships, the Nanooks are chasing nine for the lead and are maintaining a one-point lead over TCU, who shot a 2,350. They'll look for a strong day in the air rifle. On the season, the Nanooks had an average of 2378.154, good for the third-best average in NCAA rifle. Anti is confident his team will give it their all, despite the deficit, "As we head into tomorrow we certainly are a ways back from UK, but we will give it hell. The team is in the right mindset to go and just shoot naturally and not feel as though they have anything to protect. It's not all that bad to be the chase horse."

Tomorrow's air rifle discipline will begin at 7:00 a.m. AKT and will be shot in Clune Arena at the United State Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Live video and live stats can be found on the Alaska Nanooks Rifle schedule on AlaskaNanooks.com.

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