EL PASO, Texas - The Nanooks rifle team heads to El Paso to shoot with the University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday, Feb. 22. The NCAA Qualifier will be the final head-to-head matchup for the Nanooks ahead of the 2025 NCAA Rifle Championships.
Saturday, Feb. 22
at UTEP | 6 a.m. AKST
El Paso, Texas | UTEP Rifle Range
Live Targets
PRC Champs!
This will be the first match for the Nanooks since they claimed the 2025 PRC Championship title on Feb. 8-9 in Fort Wayne, Ind. at The X Count. On day one the Nanooks claimed the smallbore title with a 2367 before taking home first place in air rifle (2391) and in the overall aggregate category with a 4758. Both the air rifle and aggregate scores were program records for Alaska. Five Nanooks placed in the top 10 individual standings with Sára Karasová taking second with an 1192 performance.
Cecelia Ossi followed with an 1190 showing and
Rachael Charles took fifth with her own 1190.
Amanda Pettersen just missed out on the top-five, taking sixth (1185), and
Lucie Kissenberger took 10th with an 1183.
In the smallbore finals, Ossi led the way, firing a 464.2, placing second place and taking home silver. Charles battled in the finals and took fifth with a finals score of 427.9. Karasová was the final representative in the day one finals for Alaska and claimed seventh with a finals score of 407.1. In the air rifle final, Ossi posted another podium finish, taking second with a finals score of 251.9. Spencer followed, finishing the finals with a score of 208.6, good for fourth. Karasová was right behind Spencer in fifth with a finals score of 187.8, and Pettersen took seventh with a finals score of 144.6.
#NookNotes
- The PRC Championship was the fourth in program history for Alaska. They added the 2025 banner to their previous 2014, 2015, and 2022 championships.
- Cecelia Ossi currently sits in sixth for national individual aggregate average with an 1186.6. She is tied with Emma Rhode of Nebraska for that position. Just behind in eighth is Sára Karasová, who is firing a season-average aggregate score of 1186.1.
- In smallbore, Ossi is fifth in the country, leading the Nanooks with a season average of 590.583. Karasová follows, yet again, with an average smallbore score of 589.8 on the year.
- In air rifle, the Nanooks are led by Elli Spencer. She is ranked fourth nationally, and firing an air rifle average score of 597.083. She is the only Nanooks shooter in the top 10 nationally for the air rifle discipline.
- On the year, the Nanooks and West Virginia are the only two teams averaging over a 4740 aggregate average. The Nanooks currently hold the season-high average with a 4743.75 while West Virginia sits in second with an average aggregate score this season of 4743.091.
- The two teams are also one-two in air rifle and smallbore; the Nanooks are second in smallbore with a season average of 2356.417 while WVU has a 2356.455. In air, the Nanooks have the edge on the Mountaineers with an average score of 2387.333 while WVU is averaging a 2386.636 in the discipline.
CRCA Top 20
As of Feb. 17, the Nanooks are the No. 1 ranked team in the nation. This was the second straight week Alaska sat at the No. 1 spot after earning the ranking on Feb. 10.
- Alaska
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- Georgia Southern & TCU
View Rankings Here
What's to Come
The Nanooks will shoot at UTEP on Saturday, Feb. 22 before the announcement of the NCAA Rifle Championships on Monday, Feb. 24. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, FEb. 22 at 2 p.m. AKST/6 p.m. AKST. For more information on NCAA Rifle,
CLICK HERE.
The 2025 NCAA Rifle Championships are scheduled for March 14-15 in Lexington, Ky., hosted by the Kentucky Wildcats, and will be shot in the Memorial Coliseum.
Meet the Opponents - UTEP Miners
The UTEP Miners are currently ranked No. 16 in the CRCA Rankings and are a well-improved team this season. They currently hold a season aggregate average of 4670.769 and are led by Carlee Valenta and Kameron Wells. Valenta is averaging an aggregate score of 1172 this year while Wells follows with an aggregate average of 1168.539. Valenta is the team-leader in air rifle, firing an average score of 594.077 in the discipline. Isabella Rios has the upper hand in smallbore for the Miners, firing a team-high average of 578.538 in the discipline.
The Nanooks and Miners have not shot head-to-head this season, but the Nanooks shot alongside UTEP at the PRC Championships. UTEP finished with an aggregate score of 4670, smallbore score of 2307, and an air rifle score of 2363.
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