Student Athletes Shine at NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championships at Fort Benning

The 2017 NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championships, held March 17-19 at Fort Benning, Georgia, wrapped up on Sunday, culminating in big wins for individuals and teams from universities and colleges from across the nation.

Clemson’s Rachel Mangan won the Norwegian Trophy with a total score of 575 in the Smallbore individual event, beating runner-up John Hirsch of the Illinois Institute of Technology by five points. Mangan’s aggregate score of Air Rifle and Smallbore was the highest of the weekend, leading the pack with 1152 points. 

The Butterman Trophy, honoring the Air Rifle individual champion, went to the University of North Georgia’s Madeleine Godwin, whose score of 586 was good for a five-point win over The University of Akron’s Liz Bark.


The University of Akron club rifle team has won their first NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship. Pictured are (l. to r.) Coach April Engle, Brandon Meier, Luke Massie, Gabby Pitre and Liz Bark. (Photo credit/John Parker)

The University of Akron team earned the top honors in both the Smallbore Team and Air Rifle Team categories. The Zips, whose team consisted of Bark, Gabby Pitre, Brandon Meier, and Luke Massie led by Coach April Engle, finished with a total of 2181 points, edging out the University of Michigan squad by 29 points.

The quartet narrowly bested Clemson University in Air Rifle, finishing first with a score of 2278 over the Tigers’ 2264. As a result, Akron topped the team aggregate scores, finishing with a combined 4459, good for a 68-point advantage over Clemson.


Group shot of all the student-athletes at this year's championship. (Photo credit/John Rickards)

The top 3 finishers in each category are listed below:

Smallbore Individual

1. Rachel Mangan – Clemson: 575
2. John Hirsch – Illinois Institute of Technology: 570
3. Elizabeth Harty – Michigan: 564

 
Smallbore Team

1. Akron: 2181
2. Michigan: 2152
3. Clemson: 2127

 
Air Rifle Individual

1. Madeleine Godwin – University of North Georgia: 586
2. Liz Bark - Akron: 581
3. Megan Hilbish – Emporia State University: 577

Air Rifle Team

1. Akron – Clemson: 2278
2. Clemson: 2264
3. Michigan: 2231

 

The 2017 First Smallbore All-Star team: (l. to r.) Elizabeth Harty, Jonathan Finegan, Madeleine Godwin and Rachel Mangan. [Not pictured: John Hirsch.] (Photo credit/John Parker)

The All-Star teams for each discipline are:

First-Team All-Stars Smallbore

1. Rachel Mangan – Clemson: 566.5 (tie)
2. John Hirsch - Illinois Institute of Technology: 566.5 (tie)
3. Madeleine Godwin – University of North Georgia: 565
4. John Finegan – Illinois: 562.5
5. Elizabeth Harty – Michigan: 558

 
Second-Team All-Stars Smallbore

1. Luke Massie – Akron: 558
2. Megan Hilbish -- Emporia State University: 551
3. Liz Bark – Akron: 548
4. Brandon Meier – Akron: 547
5. Megan Hardy – University of Mary-Bismarck: 547

 
First-Team All-Stars Air Rifle

1. Madeleine Godwin – University of North Georgia: 584.5
2. Rachel Mangan – Clemson: 583.5
3. Liz Bark – Akron: 581.5
4. Elizabeth Harty – Michigan: 576
5. Megan Hilbish -- Emporia State University: 575.5

Second-Team All-Stars Air Rifle

1. John Hirsch - Illinois Institute of Technology: 572
2. Luke Massie – Akron: 570
3. John Finegan – Illinois: 567.5
4. Brandon Meier – Akron: 565.5 (tie)
5. Liliana Reyes – Georgia Military College: 565.5 (tie)

 
Next up at Fort Benning is the NRA Intercollegiate Pistol Championships, which run from through March 24, 2017. Stay tuned to NRA Blog for the results!