UTM’s Dacotah Faught won the USA Shooting National Championship in Women’s 10m Air Rifle on June 24.
Faught, a sophomore majoring in Criminal Justice from Amenia, North Dakota, finished the event with a score of 832 points. This resulted in a 2.5 lead margin over second place Sonya May. Faught is the first Skyhawk to win a USA Shooting National Championship.
On Sept. 26 Faught will represent the United States in the Junior Women’s Air Rifle division at the ISSF World Championships in Granada, Spain. She will be joined by May, as well as Minden Miles of Weatherford, Texas, who placed fifth in the Junior division and sixth in the Open division.
“Earning a spot on the U.S. Junior Development Team has been a goal of mine for several years,” Faught said. “So completing that goal seems unreal.”
Faught also competed in the Junior division, where she placed second behind May with 835 points. She finished 3.5 points behind first place.
“[Faught] has worked extremely hard in the classroom and on the range,” said Bob Beard, UTM rifle head coach. “She has made tremendous strides in her time as a Skyhawk.”
Faught previously competed in the NCAA National Championship in Murray, Kentucky in March, joining senior Jessica Cobb as the first UTM participants to reach the event since 2006. While there, she finished the first relay with the second-highest point total of all competitors and ultimately placed eighth.
“I would like to see where shooting takes me and how far I can go and still enjoy the sport,” Faught said. “Getting on the Development Team is one step closer to the Olympics, which is the ultimate goal.”
Coach Beard says that Faught’s focus is a large reason she has performed so well on the national stage.
“Dacotah’s expression never changes [when shooting],” Beard said. “That is the mental state of a champion.”
Prior to attending UTM, Faught was North Dakota’s Female Junior Olympic Air Rifle champion. She also made an appearance in the National Junior Olympic competition in Colorado Springs. In 2012, she became the state smallbore champion and competed in the 2012 Olympic team trials.
Featured Photo: (Dacotah Faught Facebook)
