Five NDSU Marksmanship Club rifle shooters competed in the 2020 Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference Championship Matches held in Jackson, Michigan, Feb. 21-23.
The final WIRC standings are based on the overall aggregate scores of four monthly postal matches and the end-of-season shoulder-to-shoulder match competition. The conference consists of 13 colleges and universities with rifle club marksmanship programs.
The NDSU smallbore rifle team (.22 caliber) of Brandon Alexander, a sophomore in construction management from Devils Lake, North Dakota; Amanda Hintz, a sophomore in ag business form Bismarck, North Dakota; Tyler Lineman, a sophomore in crop and weed science from Emerado, North Dakota; and Rachael Voigt a sophomore in animal science and biomedical science from Halliday, North Dakota took third place in conference standings. The air rifle team of Alexander, Hintz, Lineman, Voigt and Elijah Holter a junior in respiratory care from Larimore, North Dakota placed fourth overall.
In individual rankings, Hintz finished second and Alexander finished fourth in the smallbore competition while in air rifle competition, Alexander finished second and Hintz finished fourth, overall. In other conference honors, Alexander was named to the WIRC First All-Conference Team honors in both small bore and air rifle, while Hintz was named to the Second WIRC All-Conference Team in both disciplines.
Smallbore rifle competition involves three shooting positions; standing, kneeling and prone. Lineman was recognized as having one of the top three highest seasonal average scores.
The rifle teams are coached by Mitchell Godbout of Casselton, North Dakota, and Dacotah Faught of Fargo. The teams train at the Red River Regional Marksmanship Center in West Fargo. Both rifle teams have qualified for the national championship competition and are preparing for the NRA National Collegiate Club Rifle Championship Matches to be held March 20-22 at Ft. Benning, Georgia.
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