The Skyhawk rifle squad took on Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) heavy-hitter Murray State on Sunday, Oct. 25, in Murray, Kentucky.
Despite falling to the Racers 4,592-4,669, the team itself had its best result so far in the 2020-21 campaign, recording a season-best aggregate of 4,592, eclipsing their previous season best that was set on their season opener on Oct. 3. The team also set a new season-high in smallbore, combining for 2,288 in the discipline.
Junior Rachel Sprague led the Skyhawks in all three scoring categories, scoring 573 in smallbore and 583 in air rifle for an aggregate of 1,156. Following closely behind Sprague was senior Jennifer Plocinik, who recorded a 565 in smallbore and 577 in air rifle (tied with Sprague) for an aggregate of 1,155.
Sophomore Nick Fares also competed with Sprague and Plocinik in both disciplines. Fares notched a season-high 565 in smallbore and 577 in air rifle for an aggregate of 1,142.
Other individual Skyhawks also set some new personal bests on Sunday. Senior Kalen Royal earned a new career high in smallbore, tying Sprague’s score of 573, beating her previous personal record set on Oct. 3 by 15 points, according to Sports Information.
In addition to Sprague, Plocinik and Fares, other contributors on the score sheet for air rifle include junior Abigail Donald (561) and Amanda Mayo, who earned a score of 549 in her season debut.
Though not on the scoring lineup, senior Celia Gelpey scored 541 in smallbore in her season debut.
At the end of the day, the Racers proved to be too much. Murray State beat out UTM in smallbore and air rifle by margins of 2,314-2,288 and 2,355-2,304, respectively.
Although UTM came out on the losing end, both Sprague and Plocinik came in sixth and eighth place on the top 10 list of individuals, respectively.
The Skyhawks will take a short break from official competition but will return to action against OVC rival Morehead State in back-to-back days on Nov. 7-8.
Photo Credit / Sports Information
