The West Virginia Rifle team claimed their 16th Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) title in their program’s history as well as their second consecutive one this weekend at the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center in West Point, NY.
West Virginia finished with an aggregate score of 4759, setting a new NCAA record for the highest score at a match. Kentucky came in at second place at 4747 and Ole Miss came in at third place at 4717.
In air rifle, West Virginia came in first place at 2393, setting a new program record for the highest air rifle score. Mary Tucker, Molly McGhin, Gavin Barnick, and Griffin Lake all qualified for the air rifle final.
Mary Tucker came in at second place, while Molly McGhin came in at third, Gavin Barnick at fourth, and Lake at seventh.
In smallbore, West Virginia came in first place at 2366, 16 points ahead of second place team Kentucky at 2350. Five Mountaineer qualified for the smallbore final in Matt Sanchez, Mary Tucker, Molly McGhin, Gavin Barnick, and Griffin Lake.
All five of those Mountaineers had at least an aggregate score of a 590 in the smallbore portion of the match.
Gavin Barnick finished second place at the GARC in aggregate score at 1193. He had a smallbore score of 593 and a perfect air rifle score of 600, marking the eighth time in program history that a rifle player has hit that mark.
Mary Tucker finished at third place with an aggregate score of 1190. Three other Mountaineers made the top 10 with Griffin Lake finishing fourth at 1188, Molly McGhin finishing fifth at 1187, and Matt Sanchez finishing seventh at 1186.
Up next for West Virginia is the 2024 NCAA rifle championships on March 9-10, which the Mountaineers are hosting for the second time in program history. They will look to claim their record 20th national title and their first since 2017.
Photo courtesy of WVU Athletics
