Friday, March 8
Morgantown, WV
7:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
vs
NCAA Championships
Air Force ready for NCAA Rifle Championships, March 8-9
3/7/2024 9:33:00 AM | Rifle
This Week: Air Force will compete in the 2024 NCAA Rifle Championships, Friday-Saturday, March 8-9, in Morgantown, W.V. The national championship will be held in the WVU Coliseum starting at 9:15 am ET each day. Live scoring will be available at MegaLink.
The Schedule: The smallbore competition will be on Friday, March 8, beginning at 9:15 am ET. The smallbore finals will begin at 3 pm ET on Friday. Air rifle will be on Saturday, March 9, with the competition beginning at 9:15 am ET. The air rifle finals will begin at 2 pm ET on Saturday. The awards presentation will take place after the air rifle finals, at approximately 3 pm ET.
The Field: Air Force is joined in the NCAA Championship field this season by Alaska, Kentucky, Navy, Nebraska, Mississippi, TCU and West Virginia.
About the Championships: The top eight teams, and four individuals in each discipline, will compete at the NCAA Championships. The Championship will include individual smallbore rifle three-position (60 shots) and air rifle (60 shots), with individual finals in each event following the team event. 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.
Air Force at the NCAAs: Under head coach Launi Meili, the Falcons will compete at the NCAAs for the 10th straight season and the 22nd time overall. Last season at the NCAAs, Air Force placed third in air rifle and seventh overall. Peninah D'Souza was named first-team All-America in air rifle and honorable mention in aggregate. 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 aggregate finish. The 2019 team finished third overall. The third-place overall finish in 2019 was the highest since the second-place finish in 1996. Air Force's last NCAA individual champion was Scott Rockett who won the 2022 air rifle national title.
Team Rankings: Air Force's season aggregate average of 4720.286 is fifth in the nation. West Virginia has the highest team average in the nation at 4743.091, followed by TCU (4733.928), Alaska (4723.364) and Kentucky (4723.00). Air Force ranks third in the nation in smallbore average (2342.50) and is sixth in air rifle (2377.786). Air Force's season high aggregate score of 4739 (Feb. 17) is the 13th best in the nation and the third best among teams not named West Virginia and TCU. Air Force's smallbore score of 2357 (Feb. 17) is the 10th best in the nation, and the second best among teams not named West Virginia.
Individual Rankings: Junior Lauren Hurley has the team's best season aggregate average of 1180.615, 18th best in the nation. Peninah D'Souza's air rifle average of 594.78 is the 20th best in the nation this season. Morgan Kreb leads the Falcons in smallbore average at 586.571, the 16th best mark in the nation. Victoria Leppert and Scott Rockett have each shot a 599 in air rifle, tying as the third best score in the nation. D'Souza and Kreb have each shot a 593 in smallbore, tying as the 13th best in the nation.
Last Season at the NCAAs: 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).
From Coach Launi Meili: "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."
"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. 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."
NCAA Information: For more information on the NCAA Championships, click here.
The Schedule: The smallbore competition will be on Friday, March 8, beginning at 9:15 am ET. The smallbore finals will begin at 3 pm ET on Friday. Air rifle will be on Saturday, March 9, with the competition beginning at 9:15 am ET. The air rifle finals will begin at 2 pm ET on Saturday. The awards presentation will take place after the air rifle finals, at approximately 3 pm ET.
The Field: Air Force is joined in the NCAA Championship field this season by Alaska, Kentucky, Navy, Nebraska, Mississippi, TCU and West Virginia.
About the Championships: The top eight teams, and four individuals in each discipline, will compete at the NCAA Championships. The Championship will include individual smallbore rifle three-position (60 shots) and air rifle (60 shots), with individual finals in each event following the team event. 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.
Air Force at the NCAAs: Under head coach Launi Meili, the Falcons will compete at the NCAAs for the 10th straight season and the 22nd time overall. Last season at the NCAAs, Air Force placed third in air rifle and seventh overall. Peninah D'Souza was named first-team All-America in air rifle and honorable mention in aggregate. 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 aggregate finish. The 2019 team finished third overall. The third-place overall finish in 2019 was the highest since the second-place finish in 1996. Air Force's last NCAA individual champion was Scott Rockett who won the 2022 air rifle national title.
Team Rankings: Air Force's season aggregate average of 4720.286 is fifth in the nation. West Virginia has the highest team average in the nation at 4743.091, followed by TCU (4733.928), Alaska (4723.364) and Kentucky (4723.00). Air Force ranks third in the nation in smallbore average (2342.50) and is sixth in air rifle (2377.786). Air Force's season high aggregate score of 4739 (Feb. 17) is the 13th best in the nation and the third best among teams not named West Virginia and TCU. Air Force's smallbore score of 2357 (Feb. 17) is the 10th best in the nation, and the second best among teams not named West Virginia.
Individual Rankings: Junior Lauren Hurley has the team's best season aggregate average of 1180.615, 18th best in the nation. Peninah D'Souza's air rifle average of 594.78 is the 20th best in the nation this season. Morgan Kreb leads the Falcons in smallbore average at 586.571, the 16th best mark in the nation. Victoria Leppert and Scott Rockett have each shot a 599 in air rifle, tying as the third best score in the nation. D'Souza and Kreb have each shot a 593 in smallbore, tying as the 13th best in the nation.
Last Season at the NCAAs: 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).
From Coach Launi Meili: "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."
"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. 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."
NCAA Information: For more information on the NCAA Championships, click here.
Players Mentioned
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
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/ Rifle
/ Rifle
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