The NDSU Marksmanship Club Air and Smallbore (.22 caliber) Rifle Teams took first and second place, respectively, at the 2021 National Collegiate Rifle Club Championships held at the X-Point Range in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, April 10-11.
Each team is made up of five shooters with the four best scores making up the team score. The team won the overall national championship based on the aggregate team scores for both air and smallbore competition at the matches, edging out the University of Akron team.
The Air Rifle Team also set a new national collegiate club rifle team score of 2,293 points, besting the old national record of 2,282 set in 2012.
The members of the NDSU Team are Brandon Alexander, a junior majoring in construction management from Devils Lake, North Dakota; Sara Bauman, a freshman in interior design from Valdez, Alaska; Amanda Hintz, a junior majoring in agri-business from Bismarck, North Dakota; Tyler Linneman, a junior studying crop and weed science from Emerado, North Dakota; and Olivia Nellermoe, a junior in political science from West Fargo, North Dakota.
Individual awards included Alexander winning the national championship in air rifle and second place in the smallbore match. Alexander also had the high individual aggregate score and was named to both the 2021 Air Rifle and Smallbore All-Star Teams.
Hintz placed second overall in air rifle competition and was named to the 2021 Air Rifle All-Star Team. Bauman was also named to the 2021 Air Rifle All-Star Team.
The All-Star honors are based on the individual shooter’s scores from sectional qualifying sectional matches, Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference match scores and the National Match scores.
The NDSU rifle teams are coached by Godbout and Dacotah Faught of Fargo.
In other competition, the NDSU Marksmanship Clubs pistol teams competed in the National Collegiate Pistol Championships virtually in Bismarck, North Dakota. The teams consist of Alexa Hannahs, a junior majoring in medical laboratory science from Gregory, South Dakota; Cole Hilsgen, a junior in industrial and manufacturing engineering from Kimball, Minnesota; Luke Hoberg, a junior studying architecture from Wishek, North Dakota; Soraya Nevin, a junior majoring in electrical engineering from Holt, Michigan; Kaitlin Slaubaugh, a sophomore in social science education from Wofford, North Dakota; and Jared Zollner, a junior majoring in chemistry from Vesta, Minnesota.
Zollner was named to the second team All-American for the International Air Pistol, International Sport Pistol and International Standard Pistol Teams. Hannahs received All-American Honorable mention for International Air Pistol, while Nevin received All-American Honorable Mention for International Sport Pistol.
The coaches of the pistol teams are Eric Pueppke of Amenia, North Dakota, and James Ladwig of Argusville, North Dakota. All of the teams practice at the Red River Regional Marksmanship Center in West Fargo, North Dakota.
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