Nick Kendall
Staff Writer
nkendall1@murraystate.edu
The Murray State rifle team finished second place in the OVC Rifle Championship last weekend, only 10 points away from the top spot.
Morehead State came out on top with a score of 4643. The Racers were right behind with 4634, Jacksonville State finished third with 4622 points and UT-Martin finished last with 4589 points.
Freshman Matias Kiuru led in scoring for Murray State with 592 in air rifle and 579 in smallbore. The Helsinki, Finland, native also received the OVC Athlete of the Year Award, OVC Newcomer Award and a spot on the All-OVC first team.
Senior Meike Drewell earned All-OVC Second team honors in both air rifle and smallbore. Junior Dana Buesseler also earned second-team honors in smallbore and Sophomore Anna Scheer was awarded second-team honors for air rifle.
Head Coach Alan Lollar didn’t like the outcome of the tournament, but he believes that Kiuru and the rest of the team can bounce back and win the next tournament.
“To accomplish what [Kiuru] has to this point after joining the team in January is no small feat,” Lollar said. “Our season, however, is not over. We intend to return to training this with a renewed intensity in pursuit of our goal of qualifying for the NCAA Championship.”
The Racers will have one more opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 16, when they take on the Gamecocks in Jacksonville, Alabama.