MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Navy rifle team (11-7) opened up competition in the 2023 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building in Morgantown, W.Va. with a combined team score of 2,325 points in smallbore to finish the first day of competition in fifth place. Parker Haydin (Joshua, Texas) and Marleigh Duncan (Wake Forest, N.C.) qualified for the individual smallbore finals (top 8) with Haydin finishing second and Duncan coming in sixth.
 
Match host West Virginia leads the competition with a smallbore round of 2,345, leading by nine points entering tomorrow's air rifle portion of the competition as Ole Miss is in second place after shooting a 2,336 on day one. Just behind Ole Miss, Kentucky shot a 2335 to rank third, while Akron (2,330) and Navy (2,325) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, after the first day.
 
Haydin finished the smallbore portion of the team competition with a team-high 589, while Duncan was one point back with a 588. The scores qualified the duo to the individual finals, which featured the top eight shooters. WVU's Tal Engler defeated Haydin, 17-15, in a shoot-off match that came down to the final shot.
 
Joshua Potts (Ephrata, Pa.) was third on the team with a tally of 575, finishing just two points ahead of Stephanie Milvain (Matthews, N.C.) who carded a final score of 573. Deonte Hayes (Fort Mill, S.C.) rounded out the starters for Navy with a score of 570. Clarissa Layland (Granbury, Texas) closed out the day for the Midshipmen with a 559.
 
Action resumes at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday for the air rifle portion of the championship. Free live results will be available via NavySports.com.