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FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks rifle team hosted the Akron Zips and Kentucky Wildcats for a three-team match at TVSA the morning of Sunday, Nov. 19. Alaska grabbed the win with an aggregate of 4745, a new season-high. 

"Today was a solid match." said head coach Will Anti, "By far our best this season and it's starting to look more like a group that could win a national title. I think the team has grown a lot in a short amount of time and has a lot of room left to grow. It's a very young team to pump out a score like that in the fall semester."

A big day in both smallbore and air rifle allowed the Nanooks to take the victory over Kentucky and Akron on Sunday morning as the 'Nooks fired a 2356 in smallbore, followed by tying their program-record in air rifle with a 2389. Their last 2389 came on day two of the 2022 PRC Championships (2021-22 season) when the 'Nooks fired a 2389 to win the Conference Championship with an aggregate score of 4752. Kentucky followed with a 4745 aggregate score of their own, but Alaska took the victory with a better x-count of 352 to Kentucky's 346.

Akron rounded out the trio of teams with a final score of 4716.

In the individual standings, Rachael Charles took the overall individual victory. She posted a season-high score of 1190. Anti added more on Charles' performance, "Rachael led the group overall today. She has been really intense in her practice all season and I think finally reaped the benefits of it today. Air in particular was her most disciplined and fundamentally strong match since I've known her."

Sára Karasová followed in third, posting an aggregate score of 1188. "Sára squeezed every possible ten out of her performance today. She wasn't feeling stellar about the positions or the hold, but she manged it well and relied on her sort of natural style." said Anti. Marina Gonzalez Mazo and Akihito Shimizu rounded out the top-10 finishes for Nanooks individuals as Gonzalez Mazo finished in seventh with a score of 1180 and Shimizu cracked the top-10 at number nine with an aggregate of 1179. Kentucky individuals took second, fourth and sixth while Akron individuals took fifth, eighth and 10th. 

"Marina as well had a strong day." said Coach Anti, "Her victory was in-match management. She kept her head on through both matches and was really patient in her sighters and record waiting for her moments. Standing was brilliant and really turned what could have been a mediocre smallbore into a great day."

In smallbore, Kentucky posted the high-score in the discipline, shooting a 2357. They beat the 'Nooks by one point as Alaska fired a smallbore score of 2356. Akron followed in third with a discipline score of 2338. Individually, Karasová and Charles took first and second in smallbore. Karasová led the way with a 593 while Charles followed behind with a 591 and second-place finish. Gonzalez Mazo and Shimizu both worked their way into the top-10 as Gonzalez Mazo took eighth with a smallbore score of 587 and Shimizu took 10th with a 585. Katrina Demerle finished in 14th in smallbore with a score of 580, Elli Spencer took 16th with a 578 and Matthew Stout and Tobias Bernhoft-Osa rounded out the 'Nooks finishers in 19th and 20th-place with scores of 573 and 563. 

Alaska had a historic showing in air rifle this morning as they tied their program-record score with a discipline showing of 2389. They edged out Kentucky by one point as the Wildcats posted a score of 2388. Akron followed with an air rifle score of 2378. In air rifle, it was Charles this time to lead the individual standings. The sophomore posted a score of 599 to grab the first-place finish. She grabbed the win over two other 599 performances. Sofia Ceccarello of Kentucky took second with a 599 and Elli Spencer took third with a 599. Anti was proud of the way Spencer shot air today, after a tough stretch in smallbore, "Elijah should be proud of her air gun today. She stumbled a little in smallbore but got it together and shot a really smart air match with a huge score. That's a big dog score for sure." Katrina Demerle was the next Nanook in the air rifle standings, finishing seventh with a score of 596. Karasová followed in ninth with a 595, Shimizu took 11th with a 594 and Gonzalez Mazo rounded out the top-15 finishes for Alaska with a 13th-place finish and 593. Bernhoft-Osa took 16th with a 590 and Stout was the final Nanooks shooter in air, taking 19th with a 586. 

Anti felt this was a big move in the right direction for the Nanooks in the long-run of the season, "As a group, this was a step in the right direction. There is plenty of room in slings to pick-up 10 points or so, but we were pleased overall. It was nice to see a lot of people get rewarded after a tough road match at TCU. They all went back to the basics and dug in a bit and now we have a realistic idea of where we are at as a group. Now a few rest days and then a grind to Air Force."

The 'Nooks end 2023 on the road at Air Force on Dec. 6.

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