MSNsportsNET Wrote:WVU Wins GARC Smallbore Title
by Shannon McNamara for MSNsportsNET.com
February 20, 2010
• GARC Day One Results


Nicco Campriani

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team won smallbore with a 2317 score and sits in first place through one day of competition at the Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) Championships at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center in Oxford, Miss.

Additionally, junior transfer Nicco Campriani finished first overall with a 691.6 score. The Florence, Italy, native shot 590 (199 prone, 196 standing, 195 kneeling) in the open-field competition and 101.9 in the finals. His standing score is a school record.

Campriani’s title is the third in program history and the first since Ron Nelson won in 1999.

“This was a really good day for our team,” says 2010 GARC Coach of the Year Jon Hammond. “Across the board, everyone shot consistently. We needed to come out today and shoot like we have all year, and that’s exactly what we did."

“Nicco had a very solid day and a great final. I’m happy for him, and it’s nice to have another GARC individual champion.”

The Mountaineers (11-0 overall, 7-0 GARC) captured the top two smallbore finishes, as junior Tommy Santelli placed second with a 680.2 score. The Prosperity, Pa., native shot 582 (196 prone, 192 standing, 194 kneeling) toward the team’s score and 98.2 in the finals.

“Tom shot a great score today,” Hammond says. “He has been strong in kneeling lately and finished well today.”

Also placing in the top eight for the Mountaineers were juniors Andy Lamson and Brandi Eskew. Lamson, a Colchester, Vt., native, shot 581 toward the team score and 93.9 in the finals for a 674.9 combined score. Eskew, a native of Petersburg, W.Va., shot 578 toward the WVU score and 94.7 in the finals for a 672.7 combined score.

Senior Bryant Wallizer was the fourth counting Mountaineer and shot 576.

Sophomore Michael Kulbacki tied Wallizer with a 576 score, while classmate Justin Pentz and junior Kyle Smith shot 572. Junior Andraz Poje rounded out the Mountaineers’ day with a 563 score.

No. 3-ranked Kentucky sits in second place with a 2297 score, while No. 8 Nebraska shot 2284 and finished third.

The championships will continue tomorrow, with the air rifle competition set to begin at 8 a.m. CT. The discipline finals are set for 12:30 p.m.

Fans can follow the Mountaineers tomorrow by clicking HERE for live stats.