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CSU Rifle Team Defeats North Georgia in First-Ever Match
**Majority of Story Courtesy David Beall, NGCSU Sports Information**
DAHLONEGA, GA - Columbus State started its
first-ever rifle season with a bang (pardon the pun) on Saturday,
defeating North Georgia College and State University on the road in
Dahlonega. CSU announced the formation of the team last spring and
head coach Mike Greene's squad, dominated by freshmen shooters -
all from the state of Georgia - did not disappoint.
Columbus State won the match, accumulating 4,543 points, while
North Georgia managed 4,058 points. The Cougars bested the Saints
in both the smallbore-rifle and air-rifle events to capture the
victory.
Jonthan Hall of CSU posted the best score of the day, tallying 563
points in the smallbore-rifle division, before putting up 594
points in the air-rifle session for 1,157 total points, just
beating out teammate April Dunn who produced 1,149 points for the
Cougars. Hall posted a perfect 100 in each of his first two
air-rifle sessions on his way to the winning score of 594 - just
six points shy of a perfect mark. The junior shooter competed in
his first two collegiate seasons at Jacksonville State and sat out
last year before enrolling at CSU. Dunn, a freshman newcomer
and a newcomer to small bore shooting, placed first in the small
bore competition, just ahead of Hall.
Tori Kostecki paced North Georgia, finishing fourth overall with
1,122 points, scoring 558 in smallbore-rifle and 564 in air-rifle.
She was followed by Matt Parsons (1,113), Thomas Pifer (1,031), and
Becca Bryan (792).
Parsons led the way for the Saints in the smallbore-rifle
individual competition, posting 98 for each of his two prone scores
on his way to a team-high 559. Kostecki was just a point behind her
teammate with a score of 558.
Saturday match-up between North Georgia and Columbus State marked
the first NCAA varsity rifle competition between two Peach Belt
Conference schools in history.
CSU returns to competition on September 27 as they travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to face Ole Miss.
