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Air Rifle Team Competes at TCU
(Posted: November 24, 2009) (Printable Version)
Lion Rifles, the air rifle club team at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, learned a lesson in toughness at Texas Christian University, facing several challenges en route to posting a team score of 2083 on Sunday, Nov. 22.
“That was far from our best team score,” said faculty adviser and coach Roy Hill, “but the team overcame a lot of things to get there.”
Alex Chanprasith of Fort Smith scored a 500 out a possible 600 in his first precision rifle match. Chanprasith shot in his first collegiate match only eight days earlier and had only three days practice with a precision rifle before being called up from the sporter team.
“Alex has shown a ton of potential,” said Hill. “He started shooting just this fall with the sporter team. He’s consistently had the highest standing scores for the sporter team, and when two of our precision shooters couldn’t make the TCU trip, Alex stepped up and did very well for a rookie with such little practice with a precision rifle.”
Elizabeth Garris of Muldrow turned in a 508, despite battling both a sinus infection and a severely upset stomach.
“Elizabeth showed great dedication and emotional strength for us,” said Hill. “It’s amazing that she decided to shoot at all, and for her to put up a score over 500 feeling like she did just shows what kind of heart she has.”
Tom Nguyen of Fort Smith shot a 513, the second highest score for UA Fort Smith in the match.
Morgan Welch of Springdale led the way, shooting a 562, his personal best, and the highest individual score thus far for a UA Fort Smith shooter.
“I can’t say enough about Morgan’s shooting,” said Hill. “He’s in only his second year of this type of competitive shooting, and it’s great for him to be at this level, with all sorts of potential for even more. There’s no telling how high his scores could go with more practice.”
To reach a score of 562, a shooter must average 93.6 points on every string of 10 targets. On one string of 10 shots, Welch fired a 97, the highest 10-shot string for a UA Fort Smith shooter at a live match so far.
“What’s great is that he wasn’t satisfied with his 562,” said Hill.
The next action for Lion Rifles will come in January, when the precision team will shoot in three college matches in two days. The next match for the sporter team will be in February.
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