RESULTS

LEXINGTON, Va. – The 21^st-ranked Citadel co-ed rifle team opened the 2018-19 season by going on the road and claiming a 4525-4421 win over 25^th-ranked VMI, Saturday.

As part of the victory, The Citadel holds on to VMI's range flag until the two meet again in Charleston on Jan. 26, 2019. The two military institutions have developed a friendly rivalry in rifle over the years that sees the winning team of their head-to-head matches holding on to the other's range flag during the regular season. 

The Bulldogs were led by sophomore Max Brabston's 1148, including a new personal-best 592 in air rifle that helped him take top honors both overall and in the discipline.

Close behind Brabston was senior Allison Auten, who posted an aggregate score of 1144 to finish second overall. Auten claimed top honors in three-position smallbore with a 566 and followed that up with a strong 578 in air.

Fellow senior Leah Wallace set a new personal best in air rifle with a 574. She finished third overall with an 1111 aggregate score, including a 537 in smallbore.

The Bulldogs turned to junior Alexander McAlear and senior Tommy Simrill to round out the scoring five in smallbore while the duo of freshmen Emily Perkins and Izzie Blystone made their collegiate debuts in air rifle. McAlear finished fourth in smallbore with a 555 while Simrill finished 13^th with a 517. In air rifle, both Perkins and Blystone had solid first outings as Perkins finished fifth in the discipline with a 567 while Blystone finished 12^th with a 555.

Two members of The Citadel's women's team also made the trip as Shay Littlejohn and Abby Koger each competed in air rifle. Littlejohn set a new personal best with a 565, finishing 6^th, while Koger made her debut for the team with a 502.

COMING UP
The Bulldogs will be off from outside competition for two weeks. When they return to action, it will be at home inside the Inouye Marksmanship Center on Saturday, Oct. 6, hosting No. 15 North Carolina State and 20^th-ranked North Georgia.

For more information on The Citadel rifle team, please follow @citadel_rifle on Twitter or visit CitadelSports.com.