CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A hard-fought thriller separated by just 28 points did not go the Norwich University rifle team's way, as the Cadets dropped a narrow 4389-4361 contest to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the DuPont Rifle Range in a Mid-Atlantic Rifle Conference bout on Saturday morning.
Norwich's 4361 aggregate final included a dominant 2185 showcase in the smallbore, which topped MIT's 2154 effort. The Engineers overcame the deficit in air rifle competition with a 2235 score, however, topping Norwich's 2176 tally.
Sophia Ashford (Northfield, Vt.) continued her illustrious freshman campaign, leading all shooters across both teams with a first-place 560 score in the smallbore and a second-place effort in the air rifle on a 571 mark, just three points shy of first place. Her efforts combined for an 1131 aggregate, 20 points ahead of the Engineers' Eleanor Yang.
Ben Kelley (Niantic, Conn.) also placed within the top five overall shooters, coming in at fourth after finishing second in the individual smallbore standings on a 553 performance to go with a 549 score in air rifle, good for fourth-place.
Evan Elders (Spring Hill, Fla.) and
Aiden Burris (Marietta, Ga.) saw action in both smallbore and air rifle competitions, finishing seventh and eighth overall, respectively.
Sage Kontny (Clancy, Mont.),
Brady Simmons (Middletown, Del.), and
Makeda Watson (Braintree, Mass.) rounded out the field for Norwich, participating in either smallbore or air rifle events against MIT.
NORWICH LEADERS:
- First-year Sophia Ashford (Northfield, Vt.)
- 1131Â aggregate, 560 smallbore, 571 air rifle
- Sophomore Ben Kelley (Niantic, Conn.)
- 1102 aggregate, 553 smallbore, 549 air rifle
- Sophomore Evan Elders (Spring Hill, Fla.)
- 1070 aggregate, 530 smallbore, 540 air rifle
- Junior Aiden Burris (Marietta, Ga.)
- 1052 aggregate, 542 smallbore, 510 air rifle
- Sophomore Sage Kontny (Clancy, Mont.)
- Junior Brady Simmons (Middletown, Del.)
- First-year Makeda Watson (Braintree, Mass.)
The Cadets will return home for their regular season finale in hopes of revenge, hosting MIT on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 10:00 a.m. at Baroffio's Rifle Range. Norwich then travels to West Point, N.Y., for the NCAA Qualifiers on Saturday, Feb. 22, before turning all attention to the two-day MAC Championships at MIT on Saturday, Mar. 1, and Sunday, Mar. 2.
