Team News

Liberty University’s rifle team finished first in both the Air Rifle and 3-Position Smallbore competitions at the NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Sectionals held over the weekend at the Jackson County Sportsman Club in Jackson, Mich.

Freshman Claudia Weber captured a gold medal in the 3-Position Smallbore event with a score of 563, edging junior teammate Kristen Gagne, who struck silver with her 562 total. As a team, the Lady Flames won with 2,200 points, distancing themselves from second-place host Michigan (2,139), third-place Purdue (2,091), and fourth-place Bowling Green State (1,343).

In the Air Rifle, freshman Devin Peppard claimed a silver medal with her Liberty program record score of 572, followed by Weber (565) and Peppard (563), leading the Lady Flames to a first-place team finish with 2,258 points. They outshot runner-up Michigan (2,209), Purdue (2,195), and Hillsdale College (2,167).

This coming weekend, Liberty will travel to Akron, Ohio, for its Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference (WIRC) sectional. The Lady Flames will be competing against the host Zips, winners of the WIRC regular-season postal competitions, and Georgia Military, with another five or more teams shooting in Michigan and three teams in North Dakota.

Liberty will then make a return trip to Fort Wayne, Ind., on April 2-3 to compete for a second year in the American Smallbore Shooting Association (ASSA) National Championships.

Video by Olivia Bergen/Club Sports Video & Media Coordinator