MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — She stepped onto the campus of West Virginia University with a high school diploma, a knack for shooting, and a desire to get better. She blended in with every other student as she trudged to class and fought with PRT delays.
Nobody, including her, could imagine how much her life would change in a relatively short period of time. Virginia Thrasher, Ginny as she’s now known to the world, made a splash in her first trip to the NCAA Rifle Championships in 2016. She swept both individual titles in air rifle and small bore and helped the team secure another National Championship.
At the time, she was just another world class shooter at WVU. The nonchalant way such a phrase rolls off the tongue is a tribute to the stellar rifle program at WVU. But this bubbly freshman with the infectious grin and giggly laugh wasn’t done. Thrasher only a few months later secured the first gold medal for the United States in the first competition of the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
But for Ginny Thrasher this weekend will be the last time she’ll don the gold and blue leather suit and squeeze off shots down range as a Mountaineer.
“I am so grateful my senior year, NCAA’s will be here in Morgantown,” she said. “I’m really excited for the fan base and have that community support while I’m shooting. To have my last match wearing the blue and gold be there is really exciting for me and the entire team.”
The largest crowd to witness an NCAA Rifle Championship is expected to be looking on when Ginny and her teammates compete Friday and Saturday. Thrasher came to Morgantown from Springfield, Virginia where rifle was something she took up as a hobby in school and suddenly realized she was pretty good. She now admits the WVU experience has changed her in many ways for the better.
“I’m a completely different shooter,” she said. “My four years here and the coaching I’ve experienced have made me a much better shooter, a better athlete overall. I’m a better teammate and my four years in Morgantown have jump started my growth as a person to be honest.”
The Olympic Gold Medal was the peak in the eyes of fans and spectators, but Thrasher has learned to keep everything in perspective. Part of her evolution as a shooter, a student, and a person is understanding you only are under pressure if you create for yourself.
“Pressure is something you construct yourself or you can choose not too,” she said. “I’m really proud of my four years at West Virginia and I’ve really enjoyed keeping the momentum going. I’ve tried to get just a little bit better every single day and to be honest I’m sad to see my time here coming to a close.”
Thrasher will not only leave West Virginia as an Olympic Gold Medalist, an All-American, and a National Champion, but she’s also a Rhodes Scholar Finalist and by the end of the semester will hold a degree in Bio-Medical Engineering. This weekend will be an opportunity to showcase all she has accomplished in four years.
“This weekend gives us an added level of pride,” she said. “We are competing at a level and doing something where we have a chance to do something great. We take a lot of pride in that.”
Although her focus has been on this weekend, Ginny’s plans are fairly concrete for the foreseeable future. She’ll leave Morgantown after graduation and head to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to begin training full time for the 2020 Olympic Games.
“It’s a pretty good gig to kick-start your shooting career,” she said. “You get to train with some of the best athletes in the world and travel to a lot of international matches. You get to live the life of a professional athlete.”
Once she’s finished with her career at WVU she’ll be able to gain sponsorship to pay the bills as she trains. Thrasher admitted she could see herself in the role of a shooting coach several years down the road.
“I could see it after I finish my shooting career,” she said. “There are a lot of opportunities ahead.”
The opportunity this weekend though is WVU’s 20th National Championship and for Mountaineer fans, one final opportunity to see Ginny shooting for the gold and blue.