CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel rifle team is set to host the Southern Conference Championship on Saturday and Sunday inside the Inouye Marksmanship Center.
 
The 2017 SoCon Rifle Championship will be the first contested by the conference in 32 years. After sponsoring the sport beginning in 1956, the Southern Conference discontinued rifle as a championship sport in 1985 and this season became the second Division I league to sponsor rifle. During the previous 30 years a SoCon championship was awarded, The Citadel won a conference-high 10 team titles.
 
"I am excited about the return of the championship to the SoCon and to The Citadel," head coach William Smith said. "I feel that we have a strong enough team to take the match if everyone is healthy and shooting their top form."
 
This weekend marks the sixth straight time the Inouye Marksmanship Center has been the site of The Citadel's conference championship match. The Bulldogs, who were members of the Southeastern Air Rifle Conference during the SoCon's hiatus, hosted the SEARC Championship each year from 2012-2016.
 
The Bulldogs' co-ed team is currently ranked No. 20 in the nation with a score of 9,001.33 and has four team victories this season, including a three-match home winning streak and a victory at Wofford. The Citadel is positioned second in the conference with a team aggregate score average of 4,493.92 points. The Citadel's aggregate air rifle average of 2,291.93 points ranks second in the SoCon, less than 10 points behind the conference leader.
 
Sophomore Allison Auten enters the championship with the highest air rifle average in the conference among those who have at least eight competitions this season. The Abbeville, South Carolina, native is averaging 578.00 points in 13 competitions, including a high of 590 that is second on the conference's performance list this year.
 
Junior Colton Poole is eighth in the conference with an average aggregate score of 1,128.39. The Pelion, South Carolina, native boasts an air rifle average of 572.15 that is seventh in the SoCon and a smallbore average of 556.23 that ranks ninth in the conference. Classmate Morgan Long has the ninth-best air rifle average in the conference with his mark of 571.36 points per match. Poole's season-best smallbore score of 567 is tied for seventh in the SoCon this season, and Poole and Long are among a group tied for ninth in air rifle with season-best scores of 580 that each has registered twice.
 
Seniors Patrick Meyer and Richie Parra and freshman Alexander McAlear round out the co-ed squad for the championship. McAlear ranks second on the team behind Poole with a smallbore average of 548.77 points, and his air rifle average of 564.85 ranks fifth among Bulldogs. Parra is averaging 568.75 points in air rifle, fourth on the team, and 538.00 in smallbore. Meyer has a season average of 556.00 in air rifle and 541.70 in smallbore.
 
The Citadel women's team has recorded a season-best aggregate score in nine of the team's 13 competitions this season. At the NCAA Qualifier, the final match before the SoCon Championship, the team pushed its season-best score to 4,361.

Freshman Faith Totherow leads the women's team in smallbore, and sophomore Leah Fenwrick-Wallace has paced the team in air rifle. Totherow registered a season-best 558 points in smallbore at the NCAA Qualifier, and her season average of 533.42 also tops the team. Fenwrick-Wallace has the team's highest air rifle score of 570 and has scored at least 560 in the discipline seven times this season.
 
Sophomore Brandi Duzz has an average of 550.17 points in air rifle with a season high of 561 and a smallbore average of 504.08. Junior Carli Cline has competed in 10 matches this season and is averaging 540.40 points in air rifle and 515.10 in smallbore. Classmate Raven Wills has an air rifle average of 536.44 and a smallbore average of 507.00. Sophomore Shay Littlejohn is averaging 540.00 in 11 air rifle competitions, including a season-best score of 550 points.
 
This weekend's match features six different schools as full SoCon members The Citadel, VMI and Wofford are joined by associate members UAB, Georgia Southern and North Georgia. Competition starts both days at 8:45 a.m. and will feature three relays plus an eight-person final. The smallbore final begins at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, and the air rifle final is scheduled for Sunday at 3:15 p.m. Admission is free, and live results will be available at CitadelSports.com.
 
For more information on The Citadel rifle, follow @CitadelOlympic or visit CitadelSports.com.