MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State Rifle is set for its 2023-24 season debut this weekend as the Eagles hit the road to Murray. MSU faces the host Racers on Saturday afternoon and battles UT Martin Sunday morning - both matches are at Pat Spurgin Rifle Range.
Head coach
Alan Joseph enters his 10th season leading the Eagle marksmanship program. Joseph has four upperclassmen leaders on the squad, including
Bryce Ward,
Grace Weber (graduate students),
Andrew Morris and
Cassidy Wilson.
Ward, also serving another year as the President of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, led the team with an 1167.2 overall average in 2022-23. His 578.8 Smallbore average was also the team's best, and he has been First-Team All-OVC in back-to-back seasons on the Smallbore range. Weber, a three-time First-Team All-OVC honoree in Air Rifle, paced the program last season with a 591.8 AR average. She ranked third on the team in overall scoring at 1163.3.
Morris was the team's second-best in scoring average overall at 1165.0 and was all-OVC on both guns. Wilson, who transferred in from Alaska-Fairbanks, had a steady 1159.4 scoring total last season and was on the All-Newcomer Team at the OVC Championships.
Elizabeth Plecity is also a senior but will not be shooting in the fall this year.
Those five will be complemented by sophomores
Adrianna Beard,
Hayden Bell and
Holly Freeman. Joseph also added a pair of freshmen in
Cooper Gray and
Maria Koenig.
Collegiate rifle consists of two guns - Smallbore and Air Rifle - with a total of 600 available points to each individual on each gun. Teams field five counting shooters in their lineup (in most typical NCAA matches), with the top four scores of those five making up the final team score for the match.
