Lion Rifles begin season with high scores

story submitted by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith

Lion Rifles, the air rifle club team at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, set a new team record in matches at the University of Memphis and also came home with several personal best scores as well.

At Memphis, UAFS broke the 2,200 point mark for the first time, putting up a 2203.

"This is a milestone score for our team," said coach and adviser Roy Hill. "The 2200 point level is a very big one to reach for a club team. For the last five years, the college club national championship has gone for either a little over 2200 points or a little under 2200 points. But for us, to reach that level in the first match of the year, that’s very exciting."

Several individuals also achieved personal best scores at Memphis, which came during matches hosted by Memphis and the University of Mississippi on Sept. 25 and 26.

Kelli Trammell of Akins, Okla., led the way at Memphis with a 571, the highest score put up by a UAFS shooter in the team’s history.

"She’s a strong shooter, and you can find lots of NCAA varsity air rifle shooters in the 570’s," said Hill. "We’re very glad we have her on the team."

James Vo of Fort Smith added a 551, and Alex Chanprasith of Fort Smith tallied a 550.

"This was James’ first match for us, and Alex set a personal best," said Hill. "It’s great to reach a point where a pair of 550’s are not our highest scores."

Tom Nguyen of Fort Smith rounded out the team score with a 531. Andy Land of Dover set a personal best of 526.

Two UAFS shooters took part in their first rifle matches, with Dakota Salisbury of Barling shooting a 510 and Kailyn Mefford of Clarksville turning in a 476.

"Both Dakota and Kailyn are showing strong performances for rookies," said Hill. "Their scores are already several points higher than those usually put up by rookie shooters."

At Ole Miss, Lion Rifles dropped several points, but still managed a 2170.

"We weren’t as focused as we were at Memphis," said Hill. "But it was a great learning experience for us and will make us stronger down the road."

At Ole Miss, Kelli Trammell again led UA Fort Smith with a 566. James Vo scored a 549, and Alex Chanprasith shot a 518. Tom Ngueyn shot a 537, a new personal best. Andy Land shot a 518, with Dakota Salisbury putting up a 486 and Kailyn Mefford a 454.

The next match for Lion Rifles will be at Texas Christian University on Oct. 16. TCU is the defending NCAA rifle champion.