Against improbable odds, the Mountaineer Rifle team has reestablished itself as one of the elite collegiate shooting programs in the United States.
This past week, the Mountaineers were ranked Number 1 in the nation for the first time in over a decade. The team’s ascention back to the top comes after WVU scrapped the co-ed program in 2003 along with four other non-revenue sports. An outcry from across the state forced the university to restore the program’s varsity status a year later.
Coach John Hammond has guided the program since that time and says it’s invigorating to reclaim the top spot in rifle.
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Electronic Scoring System has vastly improved the WVU Rifle Range in Morgantown |
"It was definitely a great feeling, I think the kids were pretty excited about it,” said Hammond. "For that brief moment it was a little bit of a sense of accomplishment and for what it means to not only fans of the university but people across the state."
The rankings come from the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association. WVU ranked first with an average season score of 4654.27. Second ranked is Kentucky with an average score of 4649.33. Three-time defending national champion Alaska Fairbanks is third. Hammond is grateful for the ranking, but also reminded his shooters to put things in perspective.
"It was something we glossed over pretty quickly. We’ve got four weeks left in the season and three more hard matches to shoot," said Hammond. "I reminded the kids, it’s nice but we want to be number one at the end of the season."
The Mountaineer Rifle program has 13 national titles to its credit and prior to the program’s upheaval was among the most successful competitive NCAA program in any sport in history.
Hammond credits several factors with their success of late. Recruits are buying into the idea they can shoot for an historic program, but can also be part of something special–restoring its dominance. Hammond says Morgantown is also an easy sell to some of the top shooters as a venue where they can compete at the highest level, get a great education, and still be fairly close to home.
The program is not without its struggles. When the rifle team was restored a condition added that it must survive largely through fundraising and donations. The team continues to work to generate the money needed to keep the program alive.
"It’s definitely been hard work," said Hammond. "It’s been a rebuilding process and the foundation has been recruiting. We’ve had some great kids come over the last couple of years and they’ve progressed well. Things have pretty much gone according to plan as it were."