While they didn't claim victory at the inaugural Kentucky Cup Longrifle Match Saturday, Morehead State's rifle team did accomplish two amazing feats. The Eagles set school records for smallbore score and overall score, shooting at Kentucky's Barker Hall Range.
The Eagles fired a 2313 smallbore total to nip the old record (set last November at Jacksonville State) by one point. MSU's 4659 aggregate total bested the previous school standard of 4653, also shot at UK last season. The Eagles, who were ranked 15th in the nation this week, faced off against No. 4 Murray State and No. 6 Kentucky.
In smallbore, the record total was built like this. Freshman Katie Frye led the way with a career-high 582, including a personal best 197 on kneeling and tying a personal record of 198 in prone. Senor Brandon Bryer turned in a 579, while sophomore Ryan Hinson shot a 577. Junior Alexa Potts had a 575 on her way to having a career-best day in total score (1164 = 575 smallbore, 589 air).
In air rifle, Potts paced the squad with the 589. Hinson shot a 587, while sophomore Karly Potts and senior Siarra Crum registered 585 totals.
Other notable performances included Karly Potts tying her personal best of 196 in prone. Freshman Amber Schifano set a career-best of 1146 in total score, which included 582 air and career-best tying 564 smallbore scores. Schifano (188) and freshman Erin Diehl (189 tying) totaled personal bests in kneeling smallbore.
Kentucky won the match with a 4718 total, while the Eagles were only 26 points behind OVC leader Murray State.
MSU's next action is on Nov. 3 at Akron, where the Eagles will shoot against the host team and Nebraska.