MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia University Rifle Program notched its 21st National Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The WVU shooters trailed going into the day 2 for the Air Rifle competition. However, they were able to set aside nerves and focus on success.
“The bad news is we’re tied for fourth, but the good news is we’re only three points off the lead,” said Coach Jon Hammond.
WVU’s five shooters had phenomenal days in air rifle and closed the book on another title for the Mountaineers, the second in a row.
“It’s a hard match. We sort of work our whole season for this match and it’s very meaningful for the U.S. kids who grow up knowing that NCAA’s for all sports is a big deal, so it’s a hard match to shoot,” he added.
West Virginia entered the final day of competition in fourth place and trailed by three points to Ole Miss and trailed TCU and Nebraska by just one point. WVU finished the day with a 2395 air rifle score, which matches the NCAA record. WVU finished with a 4748 aggregate score, which is an NCAA Championship record, to beat runner-up TCU, which finished with 4741. Kentucky finished in third place with a 4736.
The win marks the second straight title for the Mountaineers and the second straight season WVU has come from behind to claim it. Last year they were down five points headed into the second day and won the match.
“Obviously it doesn’t get old, but it definitely seems like it’s getting harder. Parity across the board is greater,” said Hammond who was spending a little down time with his family to celebrate the win.
He can’t take too much time off, since recruiting is the key to keeping the Mountaineer program at the level it’s accustomed to keeping.
“It’s a never ending job. A lot of people want to shoot for WVU Rifle, the challenge comes in making sure you pick the right one or two shooters for your program,” he said.