The NDSU Marksmanship Club air and smallbore (.22 caliber) rifle teams tallied wins at the 2021 Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference Championship matches Feb. 19-21.
The teams brought home the Bernarde (air rifle) and the Wiles (smallbore rifle) Trophies from the Championship Matches as well as the Swanson Trophy (smallbore rifle) for the 2020-2021 match season as the top scoring team.
Team members are:
• Brandon Alexander, junior in construction management from Devils Lake, North Dakota
• Sara Bauman, freshman in interior design from Valdez, Alaska
• Amanda Hintz, junior in agribusiness from Bismarck, North Dakota
• Tyler Linneman, junior in crop and weed science from Emerado, North Dakota
• Olivia Nellermoe, junior in political science from West Fargo
The Championship Matches were the culmination of monthly postal matches from October through January. The conference is made up of 16 colleges and universities that offer organized rifle shooting sports to their students. To qualify for the annual championship competition, teams and individuals must compete in all monthly matches.
In other conference honors for the air rifle division, Alexander posted the high individual score for first place during the championship match. Alexander and Hintz were named to the first All-Conference Air Rifle Team, and Bauman was named to the second All-Conference Team. Linneman was named the most improved air rifle shooter for the season. Coach Mitchell Godbout from Casselton, North Dakota, was named the 2021 Conference Air Rifle Coach of the Year.
In the smallbore rifle division, Alexander, Hintz and Linneman placed first, third and fifth, respectively, in scoring during the Championship Matches. Alexander and Hintz were named to the first All-Conference Smallbore Rifle Team and Bauman and Linneman were named to the second All-Conference Team.
The smallbore rifle is fired from standing, kneeling and prone positions. Alexander received the first place award for season-long highest standing position average score, while Alexander and Hintz received the second and third place season-long highest kneeling position point average.
The NDSU teams are coached by Godbout and Dacotah Faught of Fargo. The teams practice and compete at the Red River Regional Marksmanship Center in West Fargo.
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