Jacksonville State, Murray
State capture Newkirk titles;
Tech shooters post several season-high scores
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech shooters posted five
season-best marks last weekend while hosting the James Newkirk
Invitational, and now the Golden Eagles prepare to host a couple of
strong teams this weekend with visits from Ole Miss and defending
NCAA champion West Virginia.
Ole Miss and West Virginia will shoot a shoulder-to-shoulder match
Saturday morning at 8 a.m. on the Tech Rifle Range in the West side
of Tucker Stadium. The Golden Eagles will face Ole Miss Sunday
morning.
“We’re looking forward to this weekend,” said
Tech rifle coach Steve Law. “We got our first chance to shoot
since the long break with last weekend’s James Newkirk
Invitational and I thought our kids did a nice job of getting back,
getting focused and competing."
“We look at this weekend as a chance to take another step
forward in preparing for the OVC Championships that are coming
up,” Law said.
Jacksonville State claimed the team titles in air rifle competition
at the Newkirk Invitational, while Murray State won the smallbore
discipline. The Racers edged JSU for the overall championship.
In air rifle, JSU posted a 2,346 to place first, followed by Murray
State (2,339), Memphis (2,314) and Tennessee Tech (2,286).
For Tech, senior Curtis Gagne (shown in photo)
fired a season-high 578, just five points off his career-best.
Austin Litherland was next for the Golden Eagles with a 576 air
rifle total, followed by Jessica McCauley with a 569 and Jonathan
Zimmerer at 563. The scores for McCauley and Zimmerer were both
season-highs, and for Zimmerer it established a new
career-best.
The smallbore team title went to Murray State with a 2,285, enough
for a 15-point victory over JSU with a 2,270. Memphis (2,262)
placed third and Tech (2,222) was fourth.
The Golden Eagles were led by Litherland with a 571. Curtis Gagne
fired a 563, Zimmerer a 547 and Patrick Stidham a 541.
In aggregate scoring, Litherland’s 1,147 was Tech’s
high total, while Gagne (1,141) and Zimmerer (1,110) each notched
season-bests numbers.
In team scoring, Murray State finished with 4,624 points for the
crown, just eight points better than Jacksonville State (4,616).
Memphis (4,576) was third and Tech (4,508) was fourth.
Individually, Murray State’s Emily Quinner had the top score
in both disciplines with Andrea Dardas of Jacksonville State second
in both. Quinner’s 592 in air rifle edged Dardas by three
points (589), and in smallbore, Quinner total of 581 was one point
better than Dardas’ 580.