CHARLESTON, S.C.  – The Citadel rifle teams earned fifth- and sixth-place finishes in the NCAA Qualifier held this weekend at the Inouye Marksmanship Center.

"We had a little bit of good and bad this weekend," head coach William Smith said. "Our team finishes have been lower this season, but at the same time we are shooting decent scores. For the first time, all of our freshmen have lettered and that's a big positive."

North Carolina State won the team competition with 4,654 points and was followed by North Georgia with 4,549. Georgia Southern was next at 4,482, and Wofford's 4,474 points placed fourth. The Citadel co-ed team scored 4,394 points, and the Bulldogs' women's team scored 4,317. Georgia Military College and Clemson were next with 4,277 and 4,151, respectively.

Sophomore Morgan Long led the Bulldogs with a 21st-place finish in small bore after registering a score of 546. Classmate Colton Poole was 22nd in small bore with his score of 545 and was The Citadel's top air rifle shooter at 567 for 24th place. Junior Richie Parra and freshman Tommy Simrill each recorded scores of 532 in small bore, and Parra's 563 in air rifle was good for 30th place.

Junior team captain Patrick Meyer registered season-high scores on both guns, scoring 561 in air rifle and 544 in small bore. His air rifle score was nearly 10 points higher than his previous season best. Senior Michael Chen matched his season-high score of 564 in air rifle while finishing 29th overall, and sophomore Christian Romero recorded a season-high 535 in small bore.

Leah Fenwrick-Wallace was the Bulldogs' top scorer in air rifle with a score of 569 to finish 23rd overall. Senior Jennifer Burch registered a 27th-place finish in air rifle after shooting a 566. Freshman Allison Auten led the team in small bore, scoring 541 to finish 27th overall. Auten's 562 score in air rifle placed 33rd overall, and Burch took 38th in small bore with a score of 523.

Senior team captain Amber Mills scored 559 in air rifle and 518 in small bore, and fellow senior Fallon Weaver scored 539 and 509, respectively. Freshman Shay Littlejohn posted a score of 530 in air rifle, and classmate Brandi Duzz registered a 486 in small bore.

The Bulldogs have one more match at home this season as The Citadel is this year's Southeastern Air Rifle Conference Championships host. The conference championship match is scheduled for March 5-6 inside the Inouye Marksmanship Center.

For more information on The Citadel rifle, follow @CitadelOlympic or visit CitadelSports.com.