CSU Shooters Impressive at Ole Miss Invitational

Columbus, GA - The Columbus State rifle team traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, on Sunday to shoot in the Ole Miss Invitational, an event encompassing three weekends and featuring 13 teams.  The Cougars faced off head-to-head with Jacksonville State on Sunday, and those scores will go into the overall Invitational pool and a the final rankings will be released next weekend.
JSU defeated the Cougar marksmen 2248 - 2222 in the small-bore portion of the event. April Dunn led the Cougars with a 568 total, finishing behind Brian Cartesen of the Gamecocks with 585. Courtney Duncan followed with a 562, while Forrest Klein turned in a 556 and Juli Yoder a 536 to round out the CSU team.
In the air rifle portion, CSU came out on top by a 2296 - 2274 count. Cartesen was again the top finisher with a 588, but Dunn was close behind at 581 for CSU. Laura Milum tallied a 579, Klein a 570, and Yoder a 566. 
JSU came out four points ahead of the Cougars for the total round, winning by a 4522 - 4518 score. Although the two squads were on the range together in a head-to-head environment, the scores will go into the overall pool from which the final results will be determined. As of the close of shooting on Sunday, the two squads were ranked first and second heading toward the final round of competitors next week.
CSU shot without junior Jonathan Hall in Oxford. Hall remained home in Columbus and was at Fort Benning's Army Marksmanship Unit shooting in a United States Olympic Development qualifying match. The Carrollton native could advance through and have an opportunity to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team if he continues to shoot well in qualifying events. Hall, who shot for two seasons at Jacksonville State, was the top finisher for CSU in the team's first meet on September 12 at North Georgia.
CSU returns to head-to-head competition this weekend as it travels to Tennessee for a pair of matches. The Cougars take on Memphis on Saturday at 9 AM and then travel to Martin, TN, to face UT-Martin at 9 AM on Sunday.