RESULTS

CHARLESTON, S.C. – For the third time in four weeks, The Citadel mixed rifle team posted a new season-best aggregate score, a 4575, to win a National Rifle Association (NRA) Sectional over No. 24 Georgia Southern (4545). The match, held on Jan. 26, also saw the Bulldogs defeat No. 26 VMI (4485) apart from the NRA Sectional.

With the new season-best aggregate score, the Bulldogs moved up a spot in the NCAA rifle rankings from 23^rd to 22^nd, passing Coast Guard.

With the win over VMI, the Bulldogs maintain control of the Keydets' range flag as part of the friendly rivalry between the two. The Citadel has won the last four head-to-head, regular-season meetings with VMI.

VMI's women's team finished fourth of the five NCAA teams with an aggregate score of 4408 and The Citadel's women's team finished fifth with a score of 4256.

As part of the NRA Sectional, a head-to-head matchup with Georgia Southern, the top three individual finishers in each gun were awarded a medal and the winning team in each discipline also earned an award. The Citadel took top honors in smallbore with a 2265 aggregate score over Georgia Southern's 2218. GS claimed top honors in air rifle with a 2327 with the Bulldogs finishing second with a 2310. The Citadel's 2310 in air rifle was a new season best for the Bulldogs.

Georgia Southern's Courtney Weekley (578) and Rosemary Kramer (564) finished first and third in smallbore with The Citadel's Izzie Blystone bringing home silver-medal honors in the gun with a new season-best 573 for the freshman.

Kramer (593) and Weekley (583) flip-flopped in air rifle, with Kramer finishing first and Weekley third, while Max Brabston (586) brought home second-place honors in the gun.

Weekley took overall top honors on the day with an aggregate score of 1161 and Kramer finished second with an 1157. Blystone finished third overall with an 1154, the best aggregate score of the season by any Bulldog, and Brabston finished fourth. Allison Auten (1138) and Alexander McAlear (1133) finished fifth and sixth to guide the Bulldogs to the victory.

Freshman Emily Perkins once again showed marked improvement as she posted a season-best 1112 aggregate score, including a 546 in three-position smallbore and a 566 in air rifle.

The Bulldogs' women's team was led by freshman Alisha Rabaca's aggregate score of 1067 (519 smallbore, 548 air rifle) and Tierra Price's 1060 (519 smallbore, 541 air). Megan Waters also finished the day with a 1060 aggregate score made up of a 519 smallbore and a 541 in air, while Chelsea Sitarik wrapped up the competition with a 1017 (476 smallbore, 541 air).

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs have two final regular-season matches, both at home, before hosting an NCAA Qualifier. Next weekend, The Citadel will host 15^th-ranked NC State on Saturday, Feb. 2.

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