Rapid fire helps rifle team win Gamecock Invitational
Chad Hoffman
Issue date: 12/30/06 Section: Sports
The Jacksonville State University rifle team shot a season high aggregate score of 4,677 to give them the outright victory of the Gamecock Invitational from Nov. 17-19.
The Gamecocks shot an aggregate of 2,378 in Air Rifle, the highest score shot by an NCAA team this season.
Junior Joseph Hall, a native of Carollton, Ga., shot a 596, just four shots off of a perfect score. He shot a perfect score of 100 in his final four rounds of targets.
Jonathan Hall and Michael Dickinson tied for second with a 595, and was closely followed by Phillip Huckaby firing a 592, good enough for a fourth place finish.
"We had the advantage of being at home and shooting on a familiar range," stated Dickinson. "However, we cannot continue to rely on air rifle to pull our scores up. We have to get better in smallbore."
The team also had unusual fan support. Many JSU students and staff came out to watch and see exactly what rifle is all about.
With the invitational being spread out over three days, the team shot throughout the weekend. They split up the team during the shoot and it seemed to help.
Having someone shoot one day and then knowing what the rest of the team has to shoot is stressful, but the team handled it well and prevailed.
In smallbore, Joseph continued to shine when he captured the individual title by posting a 587 and helping the Gamecocks to a 2,299-2,288 win over OVC foe Tennessee Tech.
Dickinson took second overall with a 580, and freshmen Jonathan and Huckaby continued to drop by firing 566.
"Everyone seems to be focusing on air rifle before they even begin to shoot smallbore," Dickinson stated. "We need to shoot each event before we focus on the next. They are both equally important."
Murray State placed second with a 4,600, a distance of 77 points behind the Gamecocks.
This is the fifth time the Racers have placed second to JSU this season.
Memphis finished third with a 4,588, while Tennesse Tech rounded out the top four college teams competing in both guns with a 4,570.
Some Gamecocks are currently in Colorado Springs from Nov. 29-Dec. 2, at the Olympic Training Center shooting for places on the Olympic and World Cup teams. Those members include Joseph, Jonathan, Dickinson, and Huckaby.
Jax State will take the rest of the winter season off and pick up on Jan. 20 at Tennessee Tech. They will face host Tech along with Murray State and many others.
JSU will then prepare for one more meet before Sectionals and the OVC Championships, which are to be held at JSU in February.
The Gamecocks shot an aggregate of 2,378 in Air Rifle, the highest score shot by an NCAA team this season.
Junior Joseph Hall, a native of Carollton, Ga., shot a 596, just four shots off of a perfect score. He shot a perfect score of 100 in his final four rounds of targets.
Jonathan Hall and Michael Dickinson tied for second with a 595, and was closely followed by Phillip Huckaby firing a 592, good enough for a fourth place finish.
"We had the advantage of being at home and shooting on a familiar range," stated Dickinson. "However, we cannot continue to rely on air rifle to pull our scores up. We have to get better in smallbore."
The team also had unusual fan support. Many JSU students and staff came out to watch and see exactly what rifle is all about.
With the invitational being spread out over three days, the team shot throughout the weekend. They split up the team during the shoot and it seemed to help.
Having someone shoot one day and then knowing what the rest of the team has to shoot is stressful, but the team handled it well and prevailed.
In smallbore, Joseph continued to shine when he captured the individual title by posting a 587 and helping the Gamecocks to a 2,299-2,288 win over OVC foe Tennessee Tech.
Dickinson took second overall with a 580, and freshmen Jonathan and Huckaby continued to drop by firing 566.
"Everyone seems to be focusing on air rifle before they even begin to shoot smallbore," Dickinson stated. "We need to shoot each event before we focus on the next. They are both equally important."
Murray State placed second with a 4,600, a distance of 77 points behind the Gamecocks.
This is the fifth time the Racers have placed second to JSU this season.
Memphis finished third with a 4,588, while Tennesse Tech rounded out the top four college teams competing in both guns with a 4,570.
Some Gamecocks are currently in Colorado Springs from Nov. 29-Dec. 2, at the Olympic Training Center shooting for places on the Olympic and World Cup teams. Those members include Joseph, Jonathan, Dickinson, and Huckaby.
Jax State will take the rest of the winter season off and pick up on Jan. 20 at Tennessee Tech. They will face host Tech along with Murray State and many others.
JSU will then prepare for one more meet before Sectionals and the OVC Championships, which are to be held at JSU in February.
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