Huskers Finish Eighth at GARC

The Nebraska rifle team rebounded after a disappointing first day of competition to finish eighth at the Great American Rifle Conference Championship over the weekend.

West Virginia won the two-day competition with an aggregate score of 4,724, topping runner-up Kentucky (4,700) and Army West Point (4,692).  Nebraska finished the two-day meet with a score of 4,661.

Nebraska, which was in last place following the smallbore competition on Saturday, rebounded with a team mark of 2,364 in air rifle on Sunday. The score was not only NU's best mark in over a month, but marked the third-best score among the nine-team field.

Freshman Cecelia Ossi and All-American Elena Flake led the Huskers, finishing 12th and 13th with scores of 594. Freshman Madelynn Erickson placed 32nd with a score of 589, while Macey Way was 39th with a score of 587, as she returned to the scoring squad on the event for the first time since the season opener in January.

"Saturday's smallbore match put us in last place in the conference, which is exactly where we deserved to be after that performance," Nebraska rifle coach Rachel Martin said. "Our athletes knew coming into the range on Sunday what was expected of them as Division I athletes at Nebraska. They dug their heels in and came out with a good performance, especially Elena and Cecelia."

Nebraska struggled in the smallbore on the first day, as Way led the Huskers with a 17th place score of 582, her best score of the season by 17 points. Ossi (574, 47th), Erickson (571, 58th) and Flake (570, 61st) rounded out the lineup, as the Huskers' total of 2,297 was its lowest total of the year.

The Huskers were short-handed during this weekend's meet, as Emily Cheramie did not compete because of injury. Cheramie had been the Huskers' top shooter on both events during the season, and  Martin is optimistic that the senior will be back in time for the NCAA Championship.

"Emily sat this match out due to an injury," Martin said. "We decided it was best for her to save her strength for the NCAA Championships in a couple of weeks."

The Huskers will return to action in two weeks, as they compete at the 2021 NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on March 12-13.