The No. 8 Nebraska rifle team is set to compete in the Patriot Rifle Conference Championships this Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3-4 at The X Count in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Smallbore competition is set to begin at 8 a.m. (central) on Saturday, while the air rifle will begin at 7 a.m. (central) on Sunday.
Live results for both days can be found here.
The field for this week is a potential preview of the NCAA Championships next month, as five of the top 10 teams in the country – including No. 2 TCU, No. 4 Alaska-Fairbanks, No. 6 Air Force, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 10 Ohio State as well as No. 19 UTEP. NU has competed against every team in the conference except Alaska-Fairbanks.
“After a short week of practice, the team is motivated to make a strong stand at the PRC Conference championships,” Head Coach Mindy Miles said.
The Big Red finished in third at last year’s PRC Championships, where Cecelia Ossi placed first in the smallbore and second in the air rifle. She finished in sixth overall with an aggregate score of 1,187.
During the 2023-24 regular season, the Huskers set numerous team and personal records. As a team, Nebraska shot a program-record 4,728 aggregate score against Air Force on Oct. 15. Defending national champion Ossi shot a 597 in the smallbore last weekend, breaking the previous school record of 593 that was set 20 years ago. Ossi, a four-time All-American in her career, also tied the program air rifle record of 598 against No. 1 West Virginia on Oct. 29.
Ossi earned a new career-high aggregate score of 1,191 at UTEP in the Huskers’ last match. Junior Mackenzie Strauch shot a personal-best 595 in the air rifle, also against the Miners.
Sophomore Camilla Johannessen posted a 581 in the smallbore against Kentucky on Jan. 14, her career best, and freshman Charlie Mick has posted season-high scores of 583 in the smallbore (at the Citadel), 597 in the air rifle (at UTEP) and 1,180 in the aggregate (at UTEP).
The Big Red is coming off of 4,720-4,547 and 4,703-4,547 victories over No. 19 UTEP, where both days, all six Husker shooters claimed the top six spots overall.
Following the PRC Championships, NU will travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 17, to take on the No. 10 Buckeyes in an NCAA-qualifier match starting at 7 a.m. (central).