Air Force selected for NCAA Rifle Championships
2/19/2024 4:13:00 PM | Rifle
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force rifle team was selected to compete in the 2024 NCAA Rifle Championships, March 8-9, in Morgantown, W.V. Under head coach Launi Meili, the Falcons have been selected to compete for the 10th straight season and the 22nd time overall.
"We are so proud of our seniors who have won the President's Trophy (beating Army and Navy) and qualified for the NCAAs all four years," Meili said. "Our three seniors, Morgan (Kreb), Peninah (D'Souza) and Dante (Aletto) have all shot career highs in at least one important match this year. That says a lot about their drive to finish strong."
A maximum of 48 competitors will be selected to attend the championships. The top eight or fewer teams in the combined smallbore and air rifle will qualify for the championships. Along with the Feb. 19 selections, the committee will also select and identify a total of four alternates (two in each discipline).
The competitive events for the 2024 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championships will be individual smallbore rifle three-position (60 shots) and air rifle (60 shots), with individual finals in each event, team smallbore rifle three-position and team air rifle. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team totals into one aggregate score for each institution.
Each team will consist of five individuals with the top four scores in each discipline counting toward the team score. All competitors who have qualified for the championships are eligible for the individual championships in each discipline. The relay format of the championships will place at least one competitor from each institution as counters on each relay in both smallbore and air rifle.
Last season, Alaska won the NCAA rifle championship with a team score of 4729. TCU was second overall. Air Force placed third in air rifle (2375) and seventh overall (4697). Four Falcons earned All-America honors last season, and all return this season.
D'Souza was named first-team All-America in air rifle and honorable mention in aggregate last season. Lauren Hurley and Scott Rockett earned second-team honors in air rifle and Kreb earned honorable mention honors in smallbore. Kreb has earned All-America honors the last three years. D'Souza, Hurley and Rockett have earned All-America honors the last two years.
Air Force won the NCAA team air rifle championship in 2019. Air Force's highest team finish at the NCAAs came in 1995 and 1996 with a second-place finish. The 2019 team finished third overall.
Air Force is joined in the NCAA Championship field this season by Alaska, Kentucky, Navy, Nebraska, Mississippi, TCU and West Virginia.
"After a season of everyone working to shoot scores to help us qualify," Meili said. "All eight teams at nationals are back on a level playing field. We are preparing for one more solid match."
At last weekend's NCAA Qualifier, the Falcons set two school records and several personal bests. Air Force set new school records for team aggregate score (4739) and team smallbore (2357). The team's 2382 in air rifle ties as the fifth-best in school history. Kreb matched her career best in aggregate with an 1188 and tied her season best in air rifle with a 597.
Hurley shot a new career high in aggregate (1186) and smallbore (592). Sophomore Victoria Leppert set new career highs in aggregate (1183) and smallbore (595).
"Before the Christmas break, we were around eighth in the country, right on the bubble for NCAAs," Meili said. "Each weekend, we slowly climbed all the way to third in the nation after our strongest score in program history at the NCAA Qualifier this past week. We are heading into the NCAA championships with our strongest season to date. We have had a match nearly every weekend since Christmas break and we were wondering if this would be the driving force to growth or exhaustion. The cadets rallied and continued to work hard toward the goals we know we are capable of achieving."
For more information on the NCAA Rifle Championships, please visit NCAA.com.
--30--
"We are so proud of our seniors who have won the President's Trophy (beating Army and Navy) and qualified for the NCAAs all four years," Meili said. "Our three seniors, Morgan (Kreb), Peninah (D'Souza) and Dante (Aletto) have all shot career highs in at least one important match this year. That says a lot about their drive to finish strong."
A maximum of 48 competitors will be selected to attend the championships. The top eight or fewer teams in the combined smallbore and air rifle will qualify for the championships. Along with the Feb. 19 selections, the committee will also select and identify a total of four alternates (two in each discipline).
The competitive events for the 2024 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championships will be individual smallbore rifle three-position (60 shots) and air rifle (60 shots), with individual finals in each event, team smallbore rifle three-position and team air rifle. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team totals into one aggregate score for each institution.
Each team will consist of five individuals with the top four scores in each discipline counting toward the team score. All competitors who have qualified for the championships are eligible for the individual championships in each discipline. The relay format of the championships will place at least one competitor from each institution as counters on each relay in both smallbore and air rifle.
Last season, Alaska won the NCAA rifle championship with a team score of 4729. TCU was second overall. Air Force placed third in air rifle (2375) and seventh overall (4697). Four Falcons earned All-America honors last season, and all return this season.
D'Souza was named first-team All-America in air rifle and honorable mention in aggregate last season. Lauren Hurley and Scott Rockett earned second-team honors in air rifle and Kreb earned honorable mention honors in smallbore. Kreb has earned All-America honors the last three years. D'Souza, Hurley and Rockett have earned All-America honors the last two years.
Air Force won the NCAA team air rifle championship in 2019. Air Force's highest team finish at the NCAAs came in 1995 and 1996 with a second-place finish. The 2019 team finished third overall.
Air Force is joined in the NCAA Championship field this season by Alaska, Kentucky, Navy, Nebraska, Mississippi, TCU and West Virginia.
"After a season of everyone working to shoot scores to help us qualify," Meili said. "All eight teams at nationals are back on a level playing field. We are preparing for one more solid match."
At last weekend's NCAA Qualifier, the Falcons set two school records and several personal bests. Air Force set new school records for team aggregate score (4739) and team smallbore (2357). The team's 2382 in air rifle ties as the fifth-best in school history. Kreb matched her career best in aggregate with an 1188 and tied her season best in air rifle with a 597.
Hurley shot a new career high in aggregate (1186) and smallbore (592). Sophomore Victoria Leppert set new career highs in aggregate (1183) and smallbore (595).
"Before the Christmas break, we were around eighth in the country, right on the bubble for NCAAs," Meili said. "Each weekend, we slowly climbed all the way to third in the nation after our strongest score in program history at the NCAA Qualifier this past week. We are heading into the NCAA championships with our strongest season to date. We have had a match nearly every weekend since Christmas break and we were wondering if this would be the driving force to growth or exhaustion. The cadets rallied and continued to work hard toward the goals we know we are capable of achieving."
For more information on the NCAA Rifle Championships, please visit NCAA.com.
--30--
Players Mentioned
Launi Meili Interview March 5, 2025
Wednesday, March 05
Launi Meili Interview Nov 5, 2024
Tuesday, November 05
Launi Meili Interview - February 20th, 2024
Tuesday, February 20
Dave Johnson Interview Feb 6, 2024
Tuesday, February 06
