Nov. 22, 2009
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Chris Burleson took home medalist honors in both disciplines, leading the Navy rifle team to a 4631-4343 win over John Jay on Sunday. The win improved Navy's dual-meet record to 3-0.
However, the big news of the day came from the junior Burleson. The St. Augustine, Fla., native tallied a 592 in smallbore, which is believed to be the highest smallbore score for an individual since the NCAA adopted new targets prior to the 2004-05 season.
"We don't keep records, but the 592 by Burleson in smallbore is, to the best of my knowledge, the highest score smallbore score since the NCAA changed its scoring," said Navy head coach Bill Kelley. "Obviously, I am very pleased with that. He has been putting up great numbers in practice, and you never know when its going to translate to the range. I guess today was the day."
Burleson then backed it up with a medalist score of 589 in air rifle.
"He just did a great job today. Obviously, that is one of the better performances that I have had in my time here," said Kelley.
The Mids tallied a season-high 4631, including a season-best 2301 in smallbore and a 2330 in air rifle.
Burleson was joined on the smallbore team by Kenan Wang (576), Liz Leckie (567) and Ryan Williams (566).
The Mids' 2330 in air rifle consisted of Burleson (589), Williams (585), Alison Lankes (582) and Wang (574).
Kelley left some points out there off the counting team as well. If Kelley had picked the right team, Navy would have shot over a 4650.
"Unfortunately, I left some points out there today, but that really shows our depth," said Kelley. "It's a nice problem to have."
Kelley was also pleased with the resiliency of Liz Leckie in smallbore. The senior captain was battling a sickness, and at one point during the match, nearly called it quits after dizzy spells. However, she regrouped and tallied a 567 to help the squad.
"To her credit, she showed a lot of composure," said Kelley. "The score wasn't to the point that she normally is, but that was to be expected. I am really proud of her for hanging in there.
"There were a lot of good things that happened today. It was a very good day," said Kelley. "It was really exciting to watch Burleson perform. We knew what was happening and when he came off the range, there was a lot of applause for him. If we can continue to perform like we did today, we could be very successful."
Navy's fall season has been completed, and the Mids will resume their 2009-10 campaign in mid-January.
# GO NAVY #
