FAIRBANKS - The Nanooks rifle team will be bringing home some hardware after the 2024 NCAA Rifle Championships. After finishing day one in fourth-place with a 2337 in smallbore, the Nanooks used a strong air rifle outing to take third and win bronze; this was the 'Nooks third-straight podium appearance for overall finish. 

"Today was a much better match for the team and an excellent rebound from day one where we certainly had some struggles." said head coach Will Anti, "Across the board, air was solid with some big fire power from Elijah [Spencer] and Sára [Karasová]."

Big fire power indeed as Elli Spencer fired the second-ever 600 at the NCAA Rifle Championships. She joins former-Nanook, Rylan Kissell, as the only rifle athletes to pull off the feat. She also becomes the fourth-ever Nanook to fire a perfect 600. "Elijah was, of course, today's highlight." added Anti, "Shooting a 600 in any match is incredible. Shooting it at the NCAA Championships as a freshman is literally unheard of and is a huge milestone that she will never forget. We got a good chuckle because last week in practice she shot a six in airgun and basically went full panic; a week later, she shoots the second 600 ever in NCAA Championship competition and was a vision of poised control." The 600-performance earned Spencer an appearance in the individual air rifle finals where she would go on to place fifth with 186.8 points. On the weekend, Spencer finished with an aggregate score of 1179. Sára Karasová followed Spencer for the Nanooks, firing a score of 596. Despite coming into the competition sick, Karasová powered through and finished second in the individual aggregate scoring, posting an 1189 and trailing only Mary Tucker of WVU (1193). She was the only Nanook to finish in the top-10 for individual aggregate finishes. Anti was proud of Karasová's approach and what came of the weekend, "Sára got the match she deserved this week. She lead the team despite being quite under the weather - nothing was going to stop her. She has been so focused this semester in her training and very intentional in practice leading up. Her smallbore on day one was a statement score. It kept us afloat and in touching distance of the podium." 

Rachael Charles was the third scorer for the Nanooks on Saturday. The sophomore posted a score of 594, giving her an aggregate score at the Championships of 1173. The final counting score for the Nanooks on Saturday was Akihito Shimizu; Shimizu, a grad-transfer from WVU, finished his career with a 592 and aggregate score of 1175 for the 'Nooks. Marina Gonzalez-Mazo was the final shooter for Alaska and posted a 589, finishing her weekend with an aggregate of 1171 and wrapping-up her time with Alaska as well. "I want to thank Marina and Aki; Marina has worked patiently and in her own unique style for four years and made this team and performed well, particularly in smallbore. Aki performed well in both guns and got to fire his final collegiate shot (a 10) in the place where he began his career. It was quite poetic." 

Entering Saturday, the Nanooks were in fourth-place overall, trailing Kentucky by one point and trailing first-place West Virginia by 16 points. On Saturday, the Nanooks came out and fired a 2382 in air, grabbing silver in the discipline (TCU - 2385) and jumping Kentucky, who shot a 2380, to make the podium. "We knew coming into this match that it would be a tough podium to make. After day one, it looked even tougher but this is a resilient group who put the struggles of day one behind them and showed up today with optimism and determination." The TCU Horned Frogs used their big day in air rifle to leapfrog West Virginia for the title. "An enormous congratulations to our fellow conference member TCU as they pulled off one of the greatest NCAA comebacks ever." added Anti. 

Final Aggregate Results

1. TCU - 4732
2. West Virginia - 4729
3. Alaska - 4719
4. Kentucky - 4718
5. Air Force - 4709
6. Navy - 4698
7. Ole Miss - 4693
8. Nebraska - 4680

Final Air Rifle Results (Day Two)

1. TCU - 2385
2. Alaska - 2382
3. Kentucky - 2380
4. West Virginia - 2376
5. Air Force - 2376
6. Navy - 2368
7. Ole Miss - 2365
8. Nebraska - 2363

Final Smallbore Results (Day One)

1. West Virginia - 2353
2. TCU - 2347
3. Kentucky - 2338
4. Alaska - 2337
5. Air Force - 2333
6. Navy - 2330
7. Ole Miss - 2328
8. Nebraska - 2317

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