Falcons head to Fort Worth to face TCU
2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Rifle
FalconVision interview with Head coach Launi Meili
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. – Air Force heads to Fort Worth, Texas, for the 2016 NCAA Rifle team qualifier match between the Falcons (12-8) and the TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) on Saturday, Feb. 20. The score posted in that match will be one of the four scores used by the NCAA to determine the field of eight for the 2016 NCAA Championships set for March 11-12 in Akron, Ohio. For three of the Falcons, the qualifiers will be their swan song.
Class of 2016: The qualifier marks the final regular-season match for three Air Force seniors. Individually, the trio has brought national and international recognition to the Academy. As a team, they have already competed in the NCAA Rifle Championships twice, finishing fifth in 2013 and seventh in 2015 in the nation, and two have earned All-American honors. Since 2013, they accumulated a 5-1 record against Army and Navy in the President's Trophy Cup, finishing second in 2013, and winning the title in 2014 and 2015, setting a President's Cup team record (5839). In 2016, the seniors led the Falcons to a school record team score of 4687 team school record against The Citadel on Jan. 17. They also set a school record in air rifle with a 2369 against Nevada (Jan. 23), and a smallbore team record 2322 against the Citadel (Jan. 17).
From San Clemente, Calif., senior David Higgins earned all-conference honors and finished eighth in the 2016 Patriot Rifle Conference Championships. This season, Higgins was named Rifle Athlete of the Week (Nov. 30) and (Feb. 10). Throughout his Academy career, Higgins has brought national and international recognition to the school, competing in the ISSF World Championships and World Cup Championships, the National Junior Olympic Championships, and the Championships of the Americas. His college career records include an aggregate 1178, with a 594 in air rifle, and a 588 in smallbore. Following graduation, Higgins will commission into the U.S. Marine Corp.
Senior Tyler Rico, from Tucson, Ariz., finished 22nd in both smallbore and air rifle individual standings at the Patriot Rifle Conference Championships. In January 2015, he competed in the Rifle Selection Match and finished 10th overall. Rico is a four-time All-American in both the smallbore (second team) and air gun (first team) and is a College Rifle Coaches Association Second Team All American. He was honored by USAFA with the 2015 Most Valuable Marksman Award. In 2012, Rico was the men's air rifle runner up at the Winter Air Gun Championships (696.2). In his junior year, at the 2015 NCAA Rifle Championships, he finished ranked seventh in the nation with a 101.4 in the air rifle finals; he was ranked 12th in smallbore.
From Colorado Springs, Colo., senior Kevyn Stinett is an accomplished Academy marksman. In 2013, she was the Junior Olympic Shooting Championships women's 50m rifle three-position (3x20) state champion. She was the air rifle (387) silver medalist and was the top shooter in the smallbore (583) in the championships. That same year, she was ranked 24th nationally at the NCAAs. Stinett was both the silver and bronze medalist at the 2013 Winter Air Gun Championships.
Ready to carry on the tradition: Junior Ryan Jacobs, Gresham, Ore., is looking to qualify for a second time to the NCAAs. Last year, he was ranked fifth in the nation in individual air rifle, and he finished 36th in smallbore. In August 2015, he competed in the ISSF 10m Air Rifle Men's Championships and had a minimum qualifying score (604.7). At the 2016 PRC Championships, he finished 29th in the air rifle individual standings with a 584, he had a 573 for smallbore and ended with an aggregate 1157. His air rifle score is a career best in the PRCs. Earlier in the season, Jacobs, with combine aggregates of 1171 and 1859.2, was named the Academy's Rifle Athlete of the Week (Dec. 7). Jacobs scored the 1171 in the match against Ohio State on Dec. 3, and scored the 1859.2 in the 2015 Winter Air Gun Championships.
From Kingsport, Tenn., sophomore Spencer Brandon competed in the 2016 PRC Championships, he finished the championships with a total of 1163. He scored triple 100s in the air rifle and earned a total of 592 points. Brandon earned all-conference honors with his fourth-place finish in the air rifle individual ranking. His season high individual smallbore score is 579, while in air rifle he has a 592. The Falcons have a strong group of freshmen, Spencer Cap, Anna Weilbacher and Nick Learn, who made their debut this season.
At the conference championships, Cap was the Falcons' top individual and set a team record with a final score of 1172. In smallbore, he shot a 579 and then finished with an air rifle score of 593. Cap placed sixth in the air rifle individual ranking and earned All-Conference honors. For his achievements during the season, Cap was named Rifle Athlete of the Week (Nov. 3) and (Dec. 4).
Weilbacher finished 13th in the air rifle standings and finished with a 589. She was 15th in smallbore, posting an aggregate 1168, and has an individual air rifle season-high score of 593, which she set in the President's Trophy Match (Nov. 7, 2015). Her season-high smallbore is 582 versus Ohio State (Dec. 3). Following the Falcons' team victory in the Nevada match (Jan. 23), in which she set a personal-best aggregate 1172 with combined scores of a 580 in smallbore and 592 in the air rifle, she was named Rifle Athlete of the Week.
Following the NCAA Qualifier Match against TCU (Feb. 20), the Falcons will have to wait until Feb. 25 for the NCAA Championships Committee to announce the eight qualifying teams and eight individual qualifiers to the NCAA Rifle Champions
