COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Alaska Nanooks rifle team picked up their first top-three aggregate finish at the NCAA Rifle Championships since the 2015 NCAA Championships in Fairbanks. This year, they'll bring home bronze, taking third with an aggregate total of 4733. 

Kentucky, for the second-consecutive season, won the NCAA Championships, winning with an aggregate score of 4739. TCU followed behind, taking silver with a score of 4736. The Nanooks grabbed the final trophy with their 4733. Alaska was led by Daniel Enger as the senior ended his career with a top-three individual performance. On his final day in the blue and gold, Enger shot an aggregate score of 1186, using a 597 in air on top of his 589 in smallbore a day ago. Enger's 597 in air was the fourth-best performance on the day and earned him a spot in the individual finals. Rylan Kissell joined Enger in the top-10 for individual finishes, placing sixth-place with an aggregate of 1185. A day ago, Kissell shot a 591 in smallbore and took third in the individual finals before firing off a 594 in air rifle today.

The final Nanook in the top-10 was Kellen McAferty. The junior fired off a 586 in smallbore a day ago and finished off his aggregate of 1183 with a 597 in air. His 597 was good for sixth and a spot in the individual finals. Sara Karasova ended the weekend with an aggregate score of 1179, shooting a 585 in smallbore before firing off a 594 in air. Gavin Barnick rounded out the Nanooks squad with an aggregate of 1177. The freshman posted a 583 in smallbore before ending with a 594 in air rifle. 

Daniel Enger and Kellen McAferty competed in the individual air rifle finals. Enger finished the finals in seventh-place while McAferty finished in fifth-place. 

Smallbore Team Standings

1. Kentucky: 2360 points
2. Alaska: 2351 points
3. TCU: 2350 points

Air Rifle Team Standings

1. TCU: 2386 points
2. Alaska: 2382 points
3. West Virginia: 2380 points

Overall Team Standings

1. Kentucky: 4739 points
2. TCU: 4736 points
3. Alaska: 4733 points
4. Ole Miss: 4713 points
5. Air Force: 4712 points
6. West Virginia: 4700
7. Murray State: 4687 points
8. Navy: 4681 points

Alongside their third-place aggregate trophy, the Nanooks will bring home two National Runner-Up trophies in both gun disciplines. 

Day One Recap
"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.

Anti's Quotes
"Today was really a special way to the end the season. Make no mistake we came here with the intent and goal of winning a championship. We've planned on it since August. And frankly, we shot, in my opinion, well enough to do that, but we simply got outshot by a couple of great teams that had really stellar performances. While bronze and silver aren't necessarily our favorite colors I'm reminded that 18 months ago we were ranked in the bottom half of the NCAA. This team has worked tirelessly and made a climb that many would consider unimaginable. 

I was thrilled with how we performed in airgun. To come in second in air was almost a shock. All season our success has been buoyed to world class smallbore. We have shot great air at times but on a less consistent basis. This was one of our strongest performances all year. They were really positive and knew they had a tall task ahead of them. Making up 9 points in airgun - basically you need a favor. And they made up 3 points on the strongest airgun team in the country compromised of two Olympic medalists. Of the many things we'll take from this experience is the knowledge that we can hang with the best of them in airgun.

To have Daniel and Kellen lead us in air was in some ways a surprise as well. Kellen and Daniel have put in so much time into air this semester. They've come so far, but you don't always know if under the brightest lights that knew found confidence will hold. It did, and they both shot two of the best air matches I have watched. The juxtaposition between the two shooting right next to each other was almost comedic. Kellen is a very natural shooter who has to really force himself to be pragmatic in his decision making. Daniel on the other hand has to force himself to trust his natural instinct and has to occasionally accept that his mind may run a muck but that he has the ability to pull it back and recenter himself. Randi and I were both proud of the effort and I think relieved when the last pellet for Daniel popped up as a scratch ten securing him a spot in the final.

Sára, Gavin, and Rylan all worked really diligently in air as well. They were solid, they didn't let the match slip out from under them. Each hit sort of different roadblocks along the way but they managed them well. I know all three would love a couple shots back here or there, but that's shooting. 

As I said to the team afterward, in many ways we were seven freshman at this match. None of us had ever been in the exact role we were in before. A head coach trying to win their first title coaching, an assistant coach making their NCAA debut, three athletes that had competed at NCAA's but never with a legitimate shot at the team title, and two true freshman who had never seen an NCAA Championship. It's a steep learning curve that was well managed. When I was shooting in college we always used to joke that you shot well or you had a "learning day." And I had a hell of a lot of learning days. I'd say this match hit somewhere in the middle, it showed us where we are  weak and we needed to learn that and it gave us some renewed confidence in areas maybe we didn't consider strengths. We couldn't be more proud of this group. The entire team - all 9 members. They've worked tremendously hard and have trusted the coaches and department every set of the way. While we are tired from a long season, I can already see the gears turning in their heads as we prepare for the 2023 Championship."

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