June 15, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ga. - Wolf Pack rifle team members Meghann Morrill (Verdi, Nev.) and Sarah Smith (Gardnerville, Nev.) took ninth and 24th, respectively, in the 10m air rifle competition Wednesday at the 2006 USA Shooting National Championships. The event is being held June 11-18 at Fort Benning's International Shooting Complex in Columbus, Ga.
Morrill, who will enter her junior year at Nevada this fall, shot a 391 to finish in ninth place. Morrill earned All-America honors and helped the Wolf Pack to fourth-place finish in air rifle at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Smith, who will be a sophomore this fall, shot a 385 to finish in 24th place. Smith led Nevada at the 2006 NCAA Championships, finishing seventh while shooting a 588.
Former Wolf Pack standout Ryan Tanoue (Honolulu, Hawai'i) finished third in the men's 10m air rifle with a score of 591 in Wednesday's action. The four-time All-American and 2002 national champion finished five points out of first.
Incoming Wolf Pack freshman Heather Horn (Kailua, Hawai'i) finished in 39th place after turning in a score of 381 in the women's 10m air rifle competition on Wednesday. Horn, who signed a national letter of intent with Nevada in November, was an all-state selection at Punahou High School, helping her team to state and national titles in 2005. She won the 2005 Hawai`i National Rifle Association Junior 3 Position Precision Air Rifle Sectional and earned a slot at the 2005 Junior Olympic Sporter Air Rifle National Championships.
Nearly 300 rifle and pistol shooters from across the nation will compete in 14 events during the week-long USA Shooting National Championships conducted by USA Shooting, the national governing body for the Olympic shooting sports. The top finishers from this competition will be named to the national and national Development Team that represents the U.S. in national and international shooting competitions throughout the year. The 2006 National Championships are also the final part of the junior rifle and pistol team selections for the World Championships held in Zagreb, Croatia, in late July.
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