The No. 8 Nebraska rifle team will cap its season at the NCAA Championships this Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9, at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.V.
Both days of competition are slated to start at 7:45 a.m. (central), with the smallbore taking place on Friday and the air rifle on Saturday. The NCAA field includes West Virginia, TCU, Air Force, Kentucky, Alaska-Fairbanks, Ole Miss and Navy. NU has already faced the Horned Frogs, Falcons, Mountaineers, Wildcats and Nanooks.
“The team is ready to travel to Morgantown,” Head Coach Mindy Miles said. “Practice has been going well and I am confident they will put their best foot forward for the match. The atmosphere will be competitive, and I am looking forward to them rising to the challenge.”
Five Big Red athletes will compete at the NCAA Championships – Cecelia Ossi, Mackenzie Strauch, Emma Rhode, Camilla Johannessen and Charlie Mick.
NU’s qualification for the championships marks the 20th time since 2000 that the Huskers have earned a bid. At last season’s NCAA Championships, Nebraska placed sixth as a team and Ossi, a four-time All-American, claimed the smallbore title.
Ossi, a native of Annandale, N.J., has competed in every match this year for NU and owns averages of 587.42 in the smallbore, 594.33 in the air rifle and 1,181.75 in the aggregate. Her smallbore and aggregate averages are the best on the team. This season, she shattered the school record in the smallbore with a 597 at UTEP and tied the program record in the air rifle with a 598 against West Virginia. The team captain has earned 10 first-place finishes – four in both the aggregate and smallbore and two in the air rifle.
Rhode, a second-team All-American in 2023, averages a 594.50 in the event, which is the highest on the team. She averages a 584.67 in the smallbore and a 1,179.17 in the aggregate, both of which rank second on the team. Rhode, who’s competed in every match for the Huskers, has posted four first-place finishes in the air rifle, one in the smallbore and two in the aggregate.
Mick has had a solid debut season for the Huskers, competing in all 12 matches and posting a second-place finish in the air rifle and a third-place finish in the air rifle, smallbore and aggregate during the season. Her air rifle (591.00) and aggregate (1,168.83) averages are third on the team and her smallbore average (577.833) is fourth.
Strauch has competed in every match this year and registered one second-place finish in the air rifle, smallbore and aggregate, along with a third-place showing in the smallbore. She averages a 579.42 in the smallbore, which is third on the team, along with averages of 575.42 in the air rifle and 1,154.83 in the aggregate.
Johannessen has been a mainstay in the NU lineup recently and has competed in all 12 matches this year. She posts season averages of 572.5 in the smallbore, 585.17 in the air rifle and 1,157.67 in the aggregate.
As a team, the Big Red notched the highest score in program history with a 4,728 at Air Force. It has also recorded two of the top seven smallbore scores in school history (2,345 vs. WVU; 2,344 at Air Force) and three of the top five air rifle scores (2,384 at Air Force; 2,381 at UTEP, 2,379 at UTEP).
