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Columbus, Ohio -- The Nebraska rifle team saved its best scores for the last match of the regular season Sunday, taking the top three places in both air and smallbore rifles on its way to firing a season-high score of 6,165 at Ohio State. The score came just a day after the team broke its previous high by firing 6,123 at the collegiate sectional match in Cincinnati on Saturday. The Huskers, shooting shoulder to shoulder with the Buckeyes, used personal-best scores in both disciplines to take the match title.
Several Huskers recorded personal bests on the day, including freshman Nicole Allaire, whose 396 in the air rifle led all shooters. Fellow Husker Terim Richards also recorded a personal best, firing a 395 to take second. Nebraska placed all four of its shooters in the top five with freshman Amanda Trujillo taking third (385) and freshman Victoria Ridge finishing fifth (381). Rachel Spiry, shooting as an individual, took sixth firing a 380. Nebraska's total of 1,557 was its best score this season and eclipsed Ohio State's 1,489.
In the smallbore, Allaire finished with a season-high total of 1,180 points on the strength of a personal-best score of 392 in the kneeling position. Allaire wasn't the only Husker to record a personal-best in the event. Spiry also used a personal-best score in the kneeling position (385) to finish in third place with 1,145 points, bettering her previous high by 16. Trujillo finished second with a score of 1,167, just two points shy of her season high. Ridge fired a 1,116 to round out the scoring for the Huskers. NU's total of 4,608 was also a season high and bettered Ohio State (4,471) by nearly 150 points.
The Huskers now must wait nearly two weeks to hear if they are one of eight teams invited to compete at the national championships on March 9, in Lexington, Va. Coach Karen Anthony believes the Huskers stand a good chance of qualifying with both rifles. Nebraska shot 4,593 in the smallbore and 1,530 in the air rifle at the sectional match on Saturday. The highest scores from several sectional matches held across the country are what the NCAA uses to determine which schools are invited to nationals.