Feb. 24, 2017 AKRON, Ohio - The Navy rifle team opened the Great American Rifle Conference Championship on Friday with a solid showing in smallbore that has the team right in the thick of the nine-team field. Shooting at Akron's Louis and Freda Stile Athletics Fieldhouse, the Mids received three of the top 19 individual scores on their way to a cumulative amount of 2295 points. Navy currently sits seventh overall, but more importantly just 11 points out of third place and 16 out of second with the air rifle competition ahead on Saturday.
"This was a really solid start to the event," remarked Navy head coach Bill Kelley. "We received strong contributions from our shooters in the third relay, Daniel Jonas, Kestrel Kuhne and Josh Watson. We struggled a bit in the second relay and that hurt our overall score.
"Seventh place isn't where we'd like to be ranked after day one as a team, but the knowledge that we're within striking distance of second and third place in addition to fourth, fifth and sixth should energize us going into Saturday. It's shaping up to be an exciting day of action."
Navy's smallbore lineup on Friday consisted of Lucas Figi (Fr., Bozeman, Mont.) and Nash Richardson (So., Rhodesdale, Md.) in relay number two and Daniel Jonas (Sr., Allentown, N.J.), Kestrel Kuhne (Fr., Everett, Pa.) and Josh Watson (So., Enterprise, Ala.) in the third relay.
Figi and Richardson turned in comparable scores as the freshman posted a 561 to edge his teammate by one point. Navy's second set of shooters posted some of their best performances of the year with Jonas leading the way with a 580-point result. Kuhne and Watson tied for second-best in the lineup with identical 577-point scores. Jonas' mark ranked 11th overall in the field and was over two points higher than his season average, while Kuhne's was career-best. Watson's 577 was four points north of his regular season average of 572.6. Kuhne and Watson tied for 16th place with Kentucky's Jason Sharbel and Ole Miss' Harley Gardner.
Looking at the day one standings, the top-ranked team in the nation, West Virginia has a dominant 30-point lead with 2341 points. The closely-packed group of teams two through nine goes as follows: Army (2311), Kentucky (2306), N.C. State (2304), Memphis (2303), Nebraska (2303), Navy (2295), Akron (2286) and Ole Miss (2286).
The Mids will look to make their way towards the top on Saturday with the air rifle portion of the competition. Richardson and Thomas Sarant (Jr., Massapequa, N.Y.) kick off the action for Navy at 9:45 a.m. with the second relay of the day. Jonas, Kuhne and Watson are scheduled to toe the line at 12:00 p.m.
Day One Standings
West Virginia - 2341 Points
Army - 2311
Kentucky - 2306
N.C. State - 2304
Memphis - 2303
Nebraska - 2303
Navy - 2295
Akron - 2286
Ole Miss - 2286
