Story by Keenan Hall
Staff writer
Murray State rifle finished the season in fourth place at the NCAA Rifle Championship on Saturday.
The Racers ended the first day in fourth place and eventually moved on to finish the match fourth out of the eight-team field at the conclusion of the Championship match.
On day one of the match, the Racers shot a 2320 aggregate in smallbore. Senior MacKenzie Martin led her squad in smallbore with 583 points while junior Meike Drewell followed closely with 581 points.
Junior Shelby Huber ended smallbore with a 579 to finish third for Murray State. Senior Barbara Schläpfer shot a 577 and senior Alathea Sellars scored 571 points.
Drewell took charge for the Racers on the second day. While the Racers scored a 2357 aggregate to maintain their position in the top-half of the field for a fourth straight year, Drewell scored 592 points, which brought her to a team-high 1173 individual aggregate score. Huber also had a solid second day with 590 points air rifle. He finished with 1169 total individual points.
Martin shot a 587 to reach an individual aggregate of 1170 for her squad. Schläpfer ended with a 1165 individual aggregate after shooting a 588 in air rifle. Sellars ended her career with a 586 in air rifle and 1158 in total score.
This year’s NCAA Championships was the last of a historic four-year run for seniors Eric Sloan, Martin, Schläpfer and Sellars. The team led by this prestigious group of seniors became the fifth to win four straight OVC crowns. The last team to accomplish this feat was the 1999-2000 team.
These seniors also willed their program to reach the NCAA Championships in the four years of their careers at Murray State. They leave behind some big shoes to fill, but as this year’s NCAA Championship showed, their teammates are up for the challenge.
