Army Wins NCAA Rifle Championship
First NCAA Championship for U. S. Military Academy in 50 Years

By Dale Miles, CMP Writer

March may be associated in most people’s minds with the NCAA basketball tournament, but the NCAA sport of rifle has its own annual sports drama in March. The 2005 NCAA Rifle Championship was concluded this past weekend at Colorado Springs and the results proved to be every bit as dramatic, surprising and interesting as NCAA basketball tournaments.

US Army Team receives their first NCAA Championship team title in over 50 years.

In a true surprise ending, the U. S. Military Academy won the 2005 NCAA Rifle overall team title. It turned out to be the closest team contest in the 26-year history of the championship. The top four teams, Army, Jacksonville State, Nebraska and defending champion Alaska-Fairbanks, were separated by just three points. Alaska-Fairbanks was the leading qualifier for this year’s championship, but Army managed to snap Alaska’s string of consecutive NCAA rifle victories at six. In the 25 previous NCAA Rifle Championships, the highest Army finish was a third in 1985. In fact, this was the first NCAA Championship won by any Army sports team in 50 years.

The 26th Annual National Collegiate Rifle Championship took place at the U. S. Olympic Shooting Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado on March 11th and 12th. Ten different schools and 22 individuals earned invitations to compete in the 2005 championship through qualifying competitions in January and February. The University of Alaska-Fairbanks has dominated recent NCAA championships and was the favorite to win both individual and team titles again this year.

Matt Rawlings shooting towards another NCAA Championship in smallbore.

At the end of the first day’s smallbore competition, it looked as if UAF’s domination would continue. In the individual smallbore competition, UAF sophomore Matt Rawlings surged from his pre-final position of fifth with a 101.5 final to tie his teammate Jamie Beyerle. Beyerle led with a score of 588 going into the final. In the sudden death shoot-off, Beyerle fired a 6.2 and Rawlings a 9.3 to clinch the National Smallbore Title – his second straight. Beyerle finished in second place with Kristina Fehlings of the University of Nebraska taking third, just three tenths of a point behind Rawlings and Beyerle.

In the race for the team title, Alaska-Fairbanks took the lead by winning the smallbore team championship with its score of 2334. Army was second with a 2328, followed by Jacksonville State (Alabama) at 2320 and Nebraska at 2319.

University of Memphis junior Beth Tidmore won the NCAA air rifle championship with a 694.2 total. Tidmore fired a 104.2 in the final round.

The air rifle competition on day two saw new champions crowned in both the individual and team events. Beth Tidmore, a junior at the University of Memphis won the individual air rifle title. Tidmore fired a 694.2, four points better than second place finisher Andrea Franzen of the University of Nebraska. Tidmore sealed her victory with an outstanding 104.2 final round score. The previous day’s smallbore champion, Matt Rawlings, UAF, fired a 688.4 to place third.

The big surprises came when team winners were determined. In the air rifle team championship, Jacksonville State and Nebraska both had 2338 totals with Jacksonville getting the tie-breaker advantage. The Army team was seven points back in third at 2331. Alaska-Fairbanks finished sixth in air rifle team, nine points behind Army at 2322.

This meant that the Army team had an overall score of 4659, one point more than Jacksonville State at 4658. One point behind in third was Nebraska at 4657, while Alaska-Fairbanks was fourth at 4656. The Army team is coached by Ron Wigger, son of legendary two-time Olympic rifle champion Lones Wigger.

"I am honestly lost for words," Coach Wigger said. "I really thought that next year we would be in contention, but this year just seemed a bit too early. We went through a roller coaster ride these last couple of weeks after a loss to Navy so late in the season. I am just thrilled to be able to coach such a great group of cadets. That in itself is rewarding enough, but to actually coach them to an NCAA Championship is unbelievable."

The NCAA rifle team contest was dramatic and extremely close, but it demonstrates how intercollegiate rifle shooting has become more competitive with more universities producing outstanding teams. In a sport that once was dominated by Alaska and West Virginia before that, schools like Army, Jacksonville State, Nebraska, Memphis and several others now have teams and individual shooters that can contend for championship laurels.

For more information about the NCAA National Rifle Championships, including a complete list of results, go to the Official NCAA Sports webpage at http://www.ncaasports.com/rifle/championship-results/nc.