Lion Rifles beat the Cornhuskers

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, topped the University of Nebraska Rifle Club 2144 to 2116 in an air rifle match Nov. 20 at Lincoln, Neb.

The win was UAFS’s second air rifle victory against the University of Nebraska and marked the first trip for Lion Rifles to that state.

"It was great experience for our team," said Lion Rifles coach and adviser Roy Hill of Rudy. "Our shooters got to meet folks with similar interests, make friends and shoot in a good match. Nebraska came all the way down here for a match the year before last, and we owed them a trip up there."

Kelli Trammell of Akins, Okla., led all shooters with a 570.

"Since she transferred to UA Fort Smith, she’s consistently been our best performer," said Hill. "That’s a very nice score on the road and where we need her to be as we get closer to the championship in the spring."

James Vo of Fort Smith shot a 546.

"That’s not James’ best score this season, but it’s still a strong showing," said Hill. "We need him to keep shooting at a high level."

Andy Land of Dover turned in a 522 and Dakota Salisbury of Barling shot a 506 in his first start for UA Fort Smith.

"That’s the most impressive part to me," said Hill. "We had two of our experienced guys, Tom Nguyen and Alex Chanprasith, not able to go on this trip, and Andy and Dakota both stepped up and shot well enough for us to win against a very good club air rifle team."

Kailyn Mefford of Clarksville shot a 480 for UA Fort Smith, competing as an individual.

"Kailyn’s been shooting for only about four months," said Hill. "She’s shooting good scores for someone with such little experience."

The next matches for Lion Rifles are scheduled for spring 2011.