MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The seventh-ranked Navy rifle team capped off the 2020 Great American Rifle Conference Championship with a fifth-place finish after the Midshipmen racked up 4,678 points. Navy finished tied for fourth with No. 4 Nebraska but the Huskers earned the tiebreaker over Navy.
 
The Midshipmen compiled 2,360 points in air rifle, which was fifth overall in the field. No. 1 Kentucky won the conference title with a total of 4,711 points and the win also snapped No. 3 West Virginia's 10-year run as conference champions.

"All and all, we had a productive conference championship," head coach Mike Anti said. "This is the toughest of any conference and to place tied for fourth is quite an accomplishment by our team. We had a great smallbore event placing third just five points behind 19-time NCAA Champions West Virginia. We also had a solid air rifle event. Akron and Nebraska had a little bit better day and were able to catch us in the overall. It was a very tight championship with a number of teams less than 12 points from each other. This was a great indicator of what to expect at the NCAA Championship with five of the eight teams going to the national championship coming from our conference."
 
For the second-straight day, Michael Zanti (So., Norfolk, Va.) led Navy in scoring after firing a 593 on Saturday to finish ninth and he just missed advancing to the finals in air rifle. Mark Amdahl (So., Albuquerque, N.M.) posted a 590 and Kestrel Kuhne (Sr., Everett, Pa.) was just behind with a 589 for the Midshipmen. Navy's final counting score came from Gabriella Mayes (So., Rio Rancho, N.M.) with a 588.
 
Torrance Kang (Jr., Columbia, Md.) rounded out the Navy five with a 587. As non-starters, Lucas Figi (Sr., Bozeman, Mont.) shot a 584 and Luke Knollinger (Jr., Valley Grove, W. Va.) fired a 581. Figi just missed his career-high by a point.
 
In aggregate scoring for the two-day event, Zanti led the Midshipmen with a total of 1,175 and he finished in eighth-place overall with his new career-best. Amdahl finished with a score of 1,169 points for the weekend, which is his second-best of the year behind his 1,183 from last week. Kuhne was just behind with a total score of 1,168 and Kang compiled 1,167 points. 
 
Figi and Mayes were separated by just one point in aggregate scoring with a 1,157 and 1,156.  Knollinger rounded out the Navy squad for the weekend with a score of 1,144.

"Today was also an emotional match for our seniors, Kestrel Kuhne and Lucas Figi," Anti continued. "Kestrel will compete at the NCAAs but this was Lucas' final collegiate competition and did it in style shooting a career-high score in his final competition. I only wish that I had him for another year."

Will Shaner of Kentucky won the air rifle title after he scored 599 points in the relay and then outlasted teammate Ruby Gomes in the finals, 247.8-247.7. Mary Tucker of Kentucky posted the top aggregate score of the weekend with a total of 1,189 points.
 
Navy now steps away from competition for two weeks as it preps for the NCAA National Championship on March 13 and 14 in Lexington, Ky.