Naval Academy Athletics

Announced as the program's assistant coach in early June 2014, Lou MacKenzie joined the Navy rifle coaching staff after 17 years as the head rifle coach for the Queen Anne's County 4-H Marksmanship Club.
 
The 2024 NCAA Championship marked the end of Navy's record-breaking 2023-24 season, in which it broken the team-scoring record in each of the three categories, along with cracking the 4,700-point plateau on nine different occasions. The Mids finished the season with a 10-9 overall record, securing the Midshipmen’s fifth winning season in the last six years.
 
Navy used a record-setting performance to post a victory in the annual Star Match at Army. The Midshipmen registered a school-record score in the current Army-Navy scoring format to post a 5896-5863 win. In addition, the Mids shot a school record in the NCAA scoring format, notching a team score of 4724. Marleigh Duncan was awarded the Josh Watson Memorial Trophy that is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player of the Star Match.
 
The Midshipmen placed fifth at the GARC Championship with an aggregate score of 4703 points, including marks of 2331 in smallbore and 2372 in air rifle. Individually at the GARC, Isabella Baldwin led the way for the Mids. The rookie tallied 1181 aggregate points in her first GARC Championship. Marleigh Duncan was one point back, registering an aggregate tally of 1180.
 
The GARC announced its postseason awards and a pair of Midshipmen – Isabella Baldwin and Marleigh Duncan – combined for six All-Conference honors for shooting, while Clarissa Layland was selected as Navy's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Additionally, the Navy rifle team earned the conference's Sportsmanship Award. Baldwin was tabbed Second Team All-GARC in smallbore, air rifle, and combined. Duncan earned second-team distinction in smallbore and aggregate, while being named honorable mention in air rifle. Academically, Layland recorded a perfect 4.0 grade point average in the fall to represent the team as Navy's Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the GARC. Each team in the conference has one honoree based off of grades in the fall semester.
 
Navy was selected as one of eight teams to compete at the NCAA Rifle National Championship. With three consecutive record-breaking weekends, including the NCAA Qualifying Match, the Midshipmen moved themselves from 12th-place in the standings to seventh place, jumping ahead of Nebraska who qualified eighth. Joining #7 Navy in the national championship field was championship host #1 West Virginia, #2 TCU, #3 Air Force, #4 Kentucky, #5 Alaska Fairbanks, #6 Ole Miss, and #8 Nebraska.
 
At the 2024 NCAA Rifle Championship at the WVU Coliseum, Navy finished in sixth place. Clarissa Layland posted a team-best score of 1179 in her final NCAA Championship. Marleigh Duncan was second on the team with an aggregate tally of 1175. She finished one point better than Isabella Baldwin who carded a two-day score of 1174. Deonte Hayes carded an aggregate score of 1162, while Stephanie Milvain finished with an 1161.
 
Standouts Isabella Baldwin and Marleigh Duncan were selected as CRCA All-Americans, combining for five All-American accolades. Baldwin was a first-team honoree in smallbore, while being named third team in aggregate and honorable mention in air rifle. Duncan was recognized as a Second Team All-American in smallbore discipline, while being named Honorable Mention All-American in the aggregate category.
 
Academically, the CRCA announced its Scholastic All-Americans and seven Navy student-athletes –Isabella Baldwin, Catherine Dely, John Dely, Mark Dely, Clarissa Layland, Joshua Potts, and Ryan Wee – were recognized for their efforts in the classroom. Additionally, Layland was among the five Navy female student-athletes who garnered Academic All-District accolades for at-large sports from the College Sports Communicators.
 
In 2022-23, Navy finished the season with an 11-7 record, including a 3-4 mark in Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) matches. The 11 victories secured the Midshipmen’s fourth winning season in the last five years.
 
The Midshipmen finished second overall during the President's Trophy Match with a total of 5,849 points, marking its second-highest score in the competition in program history. The Mids were edged by Air Force, but defeated Army and Coast Guard in the four-team match.
 
Navy swept the top five spots on the leaderboard to post a 5,880-5,833 victory over Army in the annual Star Match at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range. The victory marked the fourth time in the last five seasons the Midshipmen defeated the Black Knights in the annual Star Match. Navy also cracked the 4,700-point plateau with a score of 4,711 in the NCAA Championship scoring format. Marleigh Duncan was awarded the Josh Watson Memorial Trophy that is awarded annually to the MVP of the Star Match.
 
The Midshipmen placed fourth at the GARC Championship with an aggregate score of 4,698 points, including marks of 2,323 in smallbore and 2,373 in air rifle. Individually, Parker Haydin earned first place overall with an aggregate score of 1,186, while Duncan finished third with a two-day score of 1,185. Haydin took second place in smallbore, while finishing third in air rifle.
 
The GARC announced its postseason awards and three Midshipmen – Duncan, Haydin, and Clarissa Layland – combined for six All-Conference honors for shooting, while Mark Dely was selected as Navy's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Duncan was tabbed Second Team All-GARC in smallbore and combined, while also claiming honorable mention distinction in air rifle. Haydin claimed second-team accolades in smallbore and combined, while Layland nabbed honorable mention laurels in air rifle. Academically, Dely recorded a perfect 4.0 grade point average in the fall to represent the team as Navy's Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the GARC.
 
Navy finished the 2022-23 season ranked ninth overall, just missing out on advancing to the NCAA Championship (top 8 advance). However, Duncan and Haydin qualified as individuals in both smallbore and air rifle.
 
At the 2023 NCAA Rifle Championship, Duncan finished the competition with an aggregate score of 1,176, while Haydin was two points back with a combined tally of 1,174. Haydin finished the smallbore competition tied for 18th among the 44 shooters in the competition, while Duncan tied for 25th in the event. Duncan led the duo in air rifle. The sophomore finished with a score of 594 to finish in 14th among the 46 shooters on the day. Haydin posted a tally of 590 to tie for 30th overall in the event.
 
Duncan and Haydin were selected as a Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) All-Americans. The duo were both recognized as Second Team All-Americans in smallbore discipline, while being named Honorable Mention All-American in the aggregate category.
 
Following the season, Haydin claimed bronze in the National Rifle Junior Olympics at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. With his finish, Haydin qualified for the 2023 ISSF Junior World Championships in Changwon, Korea. Haydin was one of four Midshipmen who made the trip to Colorado to compete in the JOs – Duncan, Stephanie Milvain, and Joshua Potts.
 
MacKenzie helped lead the Midshipmen to one of the best seasons in program history during the 2021-22 campaign. Navy broke the program record in each of the three scoring categories, along with setting new program-best team averages in each of the three disciplines.
 
The Mids finished the season with averages of 2,319.9 in smallbore, 2,372.3 in air rifle and 4,692.1 in aggregate. The averages were highlighted by new program records of 2,346 points in smallbore (Army 2/5), 2,382 points in air rifle (West Virginia 1/22) and 4,719 points in aggregate (Army, 2/5). With the aforementioned scores against Army in the Star Match, Navy won the N-Star with a five-count mark of 5,885 points against the Black Knights, the highest-point total for a Star Match in the history of the storied rivalry.
 
For their efforts under the direction of MacKenzie, the Mids earned a berth to the NCAA Championship meet, securing their 29th all-time appearance in the national tournament. Prior to earning a berth to the NCAA’s, where the Midshipmen totaled their highest ever point total for the event (4,681 points), Navy placed fourth at the GARC Championship with an aggregate score of 4,707 points, including marks of 2,333 in smallbore and 2,374 in air rifle.
 
Following Navy’s participation in the GARC Championship, team captain Michael Zanti was named a First Team All-GARC honoree, while fellow senior Mark Amdahl garnered recognition as an All-GARC honorable mention.
 
At the GARC Conference Championships, freshman Marleigh Duncan shot a 592, tying the program record for individual smallbore scoring for the second time on the season and qualifying second for the smallbore finals. She shot a 462.4 in the finals to win the Smallbore Conference Title beating Abby Buesseler of Ole Miss by 3.3 points, becoming the first student-athlete in program history to win a GARC Championship individual title.
 
Postseason recognition continued to pour in for the Midshipmen following the All-GARC honors, as Zanti was recognized as a CRCA All-American, being named a first-team selection in air rifle and smallbore, along with garnering second-team recognition in aggregate. The senior standout became the first Midshipman to earn First Team All-America honors since 2010, along with becoming only the fourth player in program history to be named a First Team All-American in both disciplines.
 
MacKenzie helped Navy to a sixth-place finish at the GARC Championships while also assisting in Michael Zanti’s appearance in smallbore at the NCAA National Championships. He also helped Navy break the program’s single-match air rifle and overall scoring records against Kentucky on Nov. 21 where the Midshipmen scored 2,373 points in air rifle and 4,686 points overall. For the season, Navy finished with an air rifle average of 2356.0 and an overall average of 4659.3, which rank second and third in program history, respectively.
 
MacKenzie also helped Zanti to CRCA Air Rifle Honorable Mention All-American honors and he assisted Mark Amdahl to All-GARC Air Rifle Honorable Mention status. The pair of Amdahl and Zanti also broke the single-season air rifle record with averages of 592.1.
 
During the 2019-20 season, MacKenzie helped to its second-consecutive NCAA Championship qualification. He also assisted in coaching Gabriella Mayes to NRA Air Rifle Honorable Mention All-American honors along with All-GARC Air Rifle Honorable Mention accolades.
 
En route to finished with a record of 10-7 overall and a 4-4 GARC mark, Navy continued to rewrite the record books with Mayes setting the new single-round air rifle mark (597) and Mark Amdahl notching a new aggregate score record at 1,183. The Midshipmen also used a record-breaking 4,685 at the NCAA Qualifier to qualify for the national championship.
 
MacKenzie was named the CRCA National Assistant Coach of the Year during the 2018-19 season. He helped Navy into the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2011 and coached the team to a fifth-place finish. MacKenzie also assisted Navy to a third-place finish in the GARC regular season followed by a fifth-place finish at the conference championship. MacKenzie was part of the Navy squad that defeated Army for the first time since 2009 with a 5,846-5,822 victory at West Point.
 
Navy finished the season with a record of 10-5 overall and went 5-3 in the GARC.
 
In his fourth season as assistant coach, MacKenize helped coach Torrance Kang and Kestrel Kuhne to individual qualification for the NCAA Championship. Kang placed 30th in air rifle and Kuhne was 29th overall in smallbore. Navy also finished third at the GARC Championship, which was a program best.
 
As a third-year assistant coach with the Mids during the 2016-17 season, MacKenzie helped the young squad make strides throughout the season and post a 9-6 record with a pair of wins in GARC competition. Under MacKenzie's guidance, senior Daniel Jonas was selected as a member of the All-GARC Smallbore Second Team after recording a 578.0 average during the season. Navy picked up its performance versus the best competition in 2016-17 as the team's top-three aggregate scores came versus No. 1 West Virginia, No. 5 Kentucky and No. 10 Memphis.
 
In 2015-16, MacKenzie helped guide Jodi Cull-Host to her NRA Collegiate Honorable Mention All-American season. Cull-Host shot a 588.9 average in air rifle to rank second all-time in Navy’s record book. Both Cull-Host and Daniel Jonas were named to GARC all-league teams with Cull-Host garnering second team accolades in air rifle and Jonas honorable mention accolades in smallbore.
 
In his first season with the Midshipmen during 2014-15, MacKenzie aided the squad in posting a 6-6 record with GARC wins over No. 16 North Carolina State and No. 18 Ole Miss. Navy twice nearly picked up victories over top-10 opponents as the Mids fell by 10 points to No. 2 Kentucky and No. 7 Memphis in back-to-back weeks. Navy shot a program-record on the current targets (circa 2008) with a 4,651 showing versus John Jay in the NCAA Qualifying match. A 23rd place showing by Dan Jonas in the NCAA Smallbore Rifle Championship concluded the Mids’ year.
 
MacKenzie joined the Midshipmen program after an accomplished career on the junior circuit. Named 2012 Junior Rifle Coach of the Year by the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association, MacKenzie led Queen Anne's County to the 2013 and 2014 NRA National Indoor Team Championships in both smallbore and air rifle. Led by 2014 NRA National Indoor Individual Champions, Mark Matheny (air rifle) and Drew Cheezum (smallbore), the team set a new national air rifle scoring record in 2014. His Queen Anne's County club also won the US Army Air Rifle National Team title. MacKenzie's top shooter at that match, David Sink, claimed the individual national championship. Including Sink, Matheny, and Cheezum, six members of the club were invited to participate at this spring's U.S. Junior Olympic Shooting Championships.
 
Since 2006, MacKenzie has seen five of his shooters from Queen Anne's County move on to collegiate careers at nationally-ranked programs, such as West Virginia, Jacksonville State and Tennessee-Martin. Two of MacKenzie's most recent shooters, Taylor Ciotola (West Virginia '15) and Cole Tucker (Jacksonville State '15) each earned All-American honors at their respective schools. Tucker finished second at the 2013 NCAA Championships.
 
Besides coaching his athletes in competitions, MacKenzie scheduled all matches for the Queen Anne's County club and served as match director for home matches, including the Maryland State Indoor Championship 3-P Smallbore and Precision Standing Air Rifle. He is certified by the National Rifle Association and Maryland 4-H as a rifle, smallbore and pistol instructor.