Nanook Rifle Team Fires Fifth Straight NCAA Championship

 

Nanook Rifle Team Fires Fifth Straight NCAA Championship

Submitted by Tori Tragis
Phone: (907) 590-1604
03/15/03

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2003

West Point, NY The Nanook rifle dynasty continued with a sixth national collegiate championship today, the fifth in a row for the sharpshooting powerhouse. Friday’s competition awarded individual titles to Matt Emmons in smallbore (1191) and a third-place finish for Jamie Beyerle (1182). Beyerle claimed the top prize in air rifle (395); teammate Per Sandberg nabbed the second slot (394).

The focus turned to the team competition Saturday. UAF corralled the air rifle title first with an aggregate 1570 points, 18 points ahead of second-place Xavier. Per Sandberg galloped ahead with a match-high 397, flanked by a 394 from Beyerle, 393 from Emmons and Karl Olsson’s 386.

Smallbore specialist Matt Emmons set the bar with the day’s high of 1184 points. Beyerle and Sandberg each shot 1180, the second-highest score of the match, and with a haul of 1173 from Olsson, the Nooks neatly wrapped it up with an aggregate 4717, handily outscoring Xavier’s 4645, which includes 2000 smallbore Olympian Thrine Kane (1167).

The UAF rifle team returns home with its sixth NCAA title, its first coming in 1994 and one that has been a habit since 1999. Senior Matt Emmons has been credited with much of the team’s success, but his teammates have consistently fired scores that rank among the best in the nation.

"Matt is leaving a very strong underclass to continue this outstanding success," said Jake Poole, special assistant to the chancellor for athletics. "He’s shown leadership skills that have allowed the underclassmen to develop into excellent athletes in their own right.

"This championship shows the quality of our athletes and coach, and it shows the ability of our underclassmen to perform to the highest standards. The future looks very good."

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CONTACT: Sports Information Director Kevin Raap at 907-474-6807 or email: fnkmr@uaf.edu, or UAF Public Relations Specialist Tori Tragis at 907-590-1604.