Story by Keenan Hall
Staff writer
Murray State rifle knocked off the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Sunday in its annual NCAA qualifier match.
The Racers won with a score of 4671 points versus the Huskers 4661 points. Murray State senior MacKenzie Martin led the way in smallbore with 586 points. Another senior Barbara Schläpfer followed her classmate with 585 points.
The other score counters in smallbore for Murray State were juniors Meike Drewell, Shelby Huber and senior Althea Sellars. Drewell finished third in smallbore seizing 576 points. Huber claimed 571 points while Sellars scored 569.
“Barbara and Kenzie were solid as usual,” said Head Coach Alan Lollar. “The mark of good leaders is to lift the team up when it is down, and I thought they both did exactly that today.”
In air rifle, it was a big day for freshmen Anna Scheer and Emily Fitzgerald. Scheer tied her career-high with 591 points in her first NCAA qualifier. Fitzgerald scored 576 in smallbore, a 590 in air rifle and 1166 aggregate. All three scores were career highs for the freshman.
“We also got really nice performances out of Emily and Anna,” Lollar said. “They are two freshmen who will continue to get better and will be an important part of our team over the next three years.”
Schläpfer led the way in air rifle with a 593, and Martin scored around her season average with 588 points. Racer seniors Eric Sloan and Sellars both shot a 586.
“I also can’t say enough about Eric, who, for the second match in a row, was called on and delivered a performance that was well above his average and something we needed at that moment,” Lollar said.
Murray State waits on the official NCAA selection show to see if they will be included in the 2019 NCAA Rifle Championship. The tournament will host eight of the nation’s top rifle programs and given the Racers’ resume, they should be well in field.
“This, by any means, was not our best performance, but I thought some people really stepped up when we needed them,” Lollar said.
The NCAA Rifle Championship will begin at 8:45 a.m. Friday, March 8-9, in Morgantown, West Virginia.
