STATESBORO, Ga. – UAB fired a team score of 2253 to win the team smallbore title for a second consecutive year. North Georgia’s Kimberlee Nettles was named the Smallbore Athlete of the Year and took the individual title in thrilling fashion on the first day of the Southern Conference Rifle Championship at Georgia Southern’s Shooting Sports Education Center on Saturday.
 
The tournament concludes Sunday with the air rifle competition, when the SoCon will crown a team air rifle and overall champions as well as an air rifle individual champion.
 
UAB led the field in the final with three shooters, represented by Sophia Flores, Amy Kohan and Zoe Lum. Kohan was the top Blazer in third, while Flores and Lum ended the day in sixth and seventh, respectively.
 
North Georgia came in second totaling 2239. The Nighthawks’ Nettles and Tobin Sanctuary finished first and second, respectively, in the smallbore final.
 
The VMI mixed team finished third with a score of 2213. Wofford and The Citadel finish fourth and fifth, respectively, with the Terriers scoring 2206 and the Bulldogs just behind at 2205. Wofford’s Dan Wesson finished fourth in the final while The Citadel’s Cameron Bates finished fifth.
 
Georgia Southern, the VMI women and The Citadel women rounded out the field in sixth through eighth, respectively. Georgia Southern’s Ashley Judson claimed eighth in the final.
 
North Georgia’s Nettles paced the field heading into the final, posting a 571 in the first relay. Sanctuary (569) and Lum (567) claimed the remaining top three spots in the final.
 
Fourth through seventh was a close competition, as all three athletes were separated by just a point from the competitor ahead of them. UAB’s Kohan (566) and Flores (565) finished just shy of the top three. Wofford’s Wesson (565) matched Flores’ score and was followed by The Citadel’s Bates (564). Georgia Southern’s Judson (560) used a strong final shot to propel her into the final by just one point.
 
Nettles, a junior from Waycross, Georgia, claims the fourth consecutive smallbore title for North Georgia. Sanctuary held a slight lead heading into the final shot before Nettles nailed the center of the target for a score of 10.4 to overtake her teammate for the individual title.
 
North Georgia’s Nettles and Sanctuary were both named first team All-SoCon in smallbore as well as UAB’s Kohan, Wofford’s Wesson and The Citadel Bates.
 
Flores, Judson and Lum are joined on the second team by VMI’s William Davidson and Hunter Jacob.
 
Sunday’s air rifle competition gets underway at 7:30 a.m. with preparation and sighting, followed by the first relay at 7:45 a.m.

Smallbore team scores
1. UAB                         2253
2. North Georgia           2239
3. VMI                          2213
4. Wofford                    2206
5. The Citadel               2205
6. Georgia Southern      2176
7. VMI-W                      2164
8. The Citadel-W           2090

Smallbore individual final
1. Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia        
2. Tobin Sanctuary, North Georgia
3. Amy Kohan, UAB
4. Dan Wesson, Wofford
5. Cameron Bates, The Citadel
6. Sophia Flores, UAB
7. Zoe Lum, UAB
8. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern

Smallbore Athlete of the Year
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia

All-Southern Conference Smallbore
First team
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
Tobin Sanctuary, North Georgia
Amy Kohan, UAB
Dan Wesson, Wofford
Cameron Bates, The Citadel

Second team
Sophia Flores, UAB
Zoe Lum, UAB
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
William Davidson, VMI
Hunter Jacob, VMI