Liberty’s Action Shooting team claims two SASP national championships in Alabama

As the 2020 Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) rifle national collegiate champions, Liberty University’s Action Shooting team returned to Talladega, Ala., this past weekend and not only defended its Rifle Cup title, but added its first-ever Pistol Cup national collegiate championship trophy to its collection.

“We had extraordinary efforts by all 11 competitors that traveled with the team,” said Flames Head Coach Bill Crawford, who also serves as general manager of the Liberty Mountain Gun Club. “As the coach, I continue to be amazed with the tenacity and resilience of the shooters. The team works for each other at a level I have not seen in my shooting career.”

While his rifle squads dominated former champions Concordia University of Wisconsin as well as Texas A&M and Virginia Tech in the various divisions of competition, Crawford credited his assistant coaches, Andrew Medford and Bryce Enold, both gifted shooters themselves, for the Flames’ and Lady Flames’ success in the pistol events.

Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets Marksmanship Unit had taken home the trophy for the last five years, but Liberty brought a centerfire pistol squad to the competition for the first time, comprised of juniors Sam Verdoorn, Andersen Bennett, and Jacob Beebe, and freshman Caleb Clinton, and they captured the top spot.

Liberty also shot for the first time in the discipline of Rimfire Pistol (Optics) and its squad made up of Verdoorn, Bennett, Gabe Goodman, and fellow junior Caden Wilburn surprised themselves and the rest of the field by also earning top honors in that category. The rimfire pistol team also had a strong showing, finishing third behind two squads from Virginia Tech.

Overall, the Flames and Lady Flames finished with seven individual champions, with all 11 participating team members represented on the podium for top-three performances by their four-shooter team or individual events. Crawford was proud of the way his shooters represented Liberty and Christ at the competition.

“Perhaps my proudest moment, even over the victories, was when the Concordia University of Wisconsin team saw us praying before the first day of shooting, then on the second day asked if they could pray with us,” he said. “It is this level of sportsmanship from our squad that makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

>> Read complete coverage on Liberty’s Club Sports shooting team page.