SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference Rifle Championship will take place Saturday and Sunday at Georgia Southern’s Shooting Sports Education Center in Statesboro, Georgia.
The SoCon will crown team champions in both the smallbore and air rifle disciplines as well as an overall champion. In addition, individual champions will be crowned in each discipline. Smallbore competition will take place Saturday, followed by air rifle on Sunday.
Eight teams will be competing for the 2019 title. UAB, The Citadel (co-ed and women’s teams), Georgia Southern, North Georgia, VMI (co-ed and women’s teams) and Wofford will compete this weekend.
North Georgia, ranked 19th nationally, is the favorite to win this year’s title with UAB coming in right behind them, ranked 20th nationally. The Nighthawks won the 2018 SoCon Championship, posting an aggregate score of 4615. Georgia Southern’s Rosemary Kramer was named the Air Rifle Athlete of the Year and North Georgia’s Dakota Spivey was named Small Bore Athlete of the Year. North Georgia paced the field with a 2289 in smallbore but found themselves in a tie for the air rifle competition with The Citadel, both scoring 2326. The Nighthawks won the overall team title with an aggregate score of 4615, with The Citadel claiming second with an aggregate score of 4567. VMI, which finished third overall, posted an aggregate score of 4510. UAB came in fourth with an aggregate score of 4506, while Georgia Southern, VMI women, Wofford and The Citadel women finished fifth through eighth, respectively.
In 2019, North Georgia averaged the highest conference scores in smallbore (2267.923) and aggregate (4584), going 6-1 in SoCon matches. Georgia Southern averaged the highest conference score in air rifle (2320.545) and finished the 2019 season going 3-3 in conference matches and finishing the regular season tied for third. The Citadel, which had the third-highest smallbore average of 22341.615 and the third-highest aggregate average of 4547.538, finished tied for third in the SoCon with a record of 3-3. VMI women, VMI, The Citadel women and Wofford finished the SoCon regular season fifth through eighth, respectively.
North Georgia’s Ricky Medina has posted the top score in the SoCon in smallbore (584), while Georgia Southern’s Rosemary Kramer leads the SoCon in air rifle (598) and UAB’s Michael Dietz leads the SoCon in aggregate (1175).
At the conclusion of the championship, athletes of the year in each discipline as well as a freshman of the year and a coach of the year will be named. The Southern Conference all-conference teams will also be named.
Admission to the championship is free.
2019 Southern Conference Rifle Championship Schedule
Saturday, March 2 – Smallbore
7:45 – 8:00 a.m. Preparation and sighting
8:00 – 9:45 a.m. Small Bore Relay #1
10:15 – 10:30 a.m. Preparation and sighting
10:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Small Bore Relay #2
12:45 – 1:00 p.m. Preparation and sighting
1:00 – 2:45 p.m. Small Bore Relay #3
4:00 p.m. Small Bore Finals
Sunday, March 3 – Air rifle
7:30 – 7:45 a.m. Preparation and sighting
7:45 – 9:00 a.m. Air Rifle Relay #1
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. Preparation and sighting
9:45 – 11:00 a.m. Air Rifle Relay #2
11:30 – 11:45 a.m. Preparation and sighting
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Air Rifle Relay #3
2:15 p.m. Air Rifle Finals