Murray State University Athletics
Friday, March 9
Charleston, S.C.
8:45 a.m.
Murray State
vs
Smallbore
Players Mentioned
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
/ Rifle
Racers Look For Third NCAA Title In Charleston
3/8/2018 4:26:00 PM | Rifle
Overview
The Murray State rifle team will compete in its 32nd NCAA Championship Friday and Saturday at the McAlister Field House on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. MSU is currently tied with Alaska-Fairbanks for the second-most appearances all-time, while West Virginia leads the way with 35 all-time championship selections.
The Racers have finished third in each of the past two championships and four times overall. Murray State has not finished in the top two since 1988 when it complete a four year stretch of winning the national title in 1985 and 1987 and finishing as runners-up in 1986 and 1988. In addition to its eight top three finishes, MSU has finished fourth eight times, fifth nine times, seventh twice, eighth three times and ninth once.
Season In Review
Murray State finished the qualifying process third nationally and was only beaten this season by the three other top-four seeds; West Virginia, TCU and Kentucky, respectively. Â The Racers aggregate average on the year of 4698.8 was fourth nationally, while its smallbore and air rifle of 2332.2 and 2366.6 was third and sixth, respectively.
In smallbore, junior MacKenzie Martin leads the way with an average of 585.9, placing her fifth in the country, while junior Barbara Schläpfer follows in seventh at 584.8. Senior Robert Broadstreet has been the Racers' lead in air rifle this season as he is currently eighth nationally with a 593.7 average. In aggregate score, it is once again Martin and Schläpfer with team-best averages at 1177.0 and 1176.5, which is good enough for eighth and tenth, respectively.
The Field
West Virginia will enter as the top-seed in the championship and in search of its sixth consecutive title. The Mountaineers currently lead the nation in smallbore at 2340.6, air rifle at 2381.5 and aggregate at 4722.3. The Mountaineers are led by Olympic gold medalist Ginny Thrasher who is third in every category nationally with a 586.3 in smallbore, a 596.7 in air rifle and an 1183.0 in aggregate.
TCU follows WVU in second in all categories (2336.9, 2378.1, 4715.0) with Mindy Miles leading the way for the Horned Frogs. Miles' averages of 584.1 in smallbore, 597.4 in air rifle and 1181.5 in aggregate currently place her eighth, second and fourth nationally. Other individuals to watch this weekend are Kentucky's Henrik Larsen and Alaska-Fairbanks' Sagen Maddalena. Larsen leads the nation in smallbore and aggregate at 592.3 and 1188.8, while Massalena is currently first in air rifle at 597.6 and second in aggregate at 1184.1.
In Their Own Words With Robert Broadstreet, Ben Estes and Ivan Roe Â
Your class has accomplished so much in your four years, what does it mean to know you will leave behind a legacy like that?
Ivan Roe: It means a lot to me. Our freshman year, we knew we could change the dynamic of this team and that was our biggest goal to achieve while we were here and we did it. Plus, it's nice to leave something behind that we can be proud of.
Ben Estes: I believe that we changed the culture of our team for the better. We changed it into a winning legacy. When I first got here we finished eighth at nationals and that was the first time in four years that Murray State made an appearance at the championship, but in the he last three years that has changed. Everyone now expects Murray state to be there, and not just make it, but be one of the top teams there.
Robert Broadstreet: It feels good to leave a big thumb print on Murray State's rifle program, but more importantly than leaving a legacy, I hope I will be leaving an example for future Murray State rifle athletes to follow. Championships will continue to come with or without me, but the attitude of the younger shooters is what makes a team, a team and I want to leave a positive impression on our future champions.
Â
This is your fourth NCAA championship. What do you know now going into your fourth that you wished you knew going into your first?
IR: I wish I'd known how hard this specific match was going to be to shoot. I've shot overseas in multiple World Cups and the Olympic Trials, nothing compares to how mentally grueling this match is. If I'd known that going in my first year I might have been better prepared.
BE: That in this sport no one can stop you from winning the whole thing. Also, that crazy things happen to everyone on championship day and no one is untouchable. Â
RB: This match is just like all the others. Approach it ready to adapt to change and have fun.Â
Â
What is your favorite memory, on or off the range, over your four years?
IR: My favorite memories are the times where we would go out to the lake at the end of the year as a team and have a bonfire on the beach. On the range, my favorite memory was when we broke 4700 for the first time ever.
BE: The first time that Murray State joined the "4700 club", as we call it. That was an eye opening day, it raised the team's expectations for every match after that. That one match made the scores of every other match so much higher just because we knew we could do it.Â
RB: I can't pinpoint one "favorite" memory, what I've always enjoyed is the interactions with all the other athletes from different sports. The different sports offer a diversity of personalities to our athletic program, a diversity that I didn't experience at home.
Â
What have your teammates, especially your two classmates, meant to you over your time in Murray?
IR: My team has been my family through both the good and bad parts, but specifically the two guys who came in with me mean the world to me. If given the chance to go back and change my choice to come here I wouldn't do it because those two have challenged me to be a better person both on and off the range. I would not have had that anywhere else.
BE: When I first got here I automatically had a friend group even though I was six hours from home. Having Ivan and Bobby at most matches just made matches almost routine and took out a lot of the nervousness, just another day at the office. They always had my back on and off the range.Â
RB: It is special to have two other classmates to share a passion with. The three of us really feed off each other's energy and that is what has made us so dynamic the last four, and especially the last two years. I have to give special praise to Ben because we shot with each other at the same high school, so it's nice to end my shooting journey with someone that I started it with.Â
Â
What is one piece of advice you would give to an incoming freshman that wish someone had given to you at that stage in regards to being a student-athlete?
IR: I would tell them exactly what Kelsey Emme told me my freshman year, "don't forget why you're doing this. Yes, it's for a score to help the team, but you shoot because you love shooting and always shoot for yourself."
BE: To learn that when you're on the range that shooting is all that matters. When you're in class, class is all that matters. Do one thing at a time and always give it you're all. Focus is the key.Â
RB: Enjoy your time it goes quickly.
Â
The Murray State rifle team will compete in its 32nd NCAA Championship Friday and Saturday at the McAlister Field House on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. MSU is currently tied with Alaska-Fairbanks for the second-most appearances all-time, while West Virginia leads the way with 35 all-time championship selections.
The Racers have finished third in each of the past two championships and four times overall. Murray State has not finished in the top two since 1988 when it complete a four year stretch of winning the national title in 1985 and 1987 and finishing as runners-up in 1986 and 1988. In addition to its eight top three finishes, MSU has finished fourth eight times, fifth nine times, seventh twice, eighth three times and ninth once.
Season In Review
Murray State finished the qualifying process third nationally and was only beaten this season by the three other top-four seeds; West Virginia, TCU and Kentucky, respectively. Â The Racers aggregate average on the year of 4698.8 was fourth nationally, while its smallbore and air rifle of 2332.2 and 2366.6 was third and sixth, respectively.
In smallbore, junior MacKenzie Martin leads the way with an average of 585.9, placing her fifth in the country, while junior Barbara Schläpfer follows in seventh at 584.8. Senior Robert Broadstreet has been the Racers' lead in air rifle this season as he is currently eighth nationally with a 593.7 average. In aggregate score, it is once again Martin and Schläpfer with team-best averages at 1177.0 and 1176.5, which is good enough for eighth and tenth, respectively.
The Field
West Virginia will enter as the top-seed in the championship and in search of its sixth consecutive title. The Mountaineers currently lead the nation in smallbore at 2340.6, air rifle at 2381.5 and aggregate at 4722.3. The Mountaineers are led by Olympic gold medalist Ginny Thrasher who is third in every category nationally with a 586.3 in smallbore, a 596.7 in air rifle and an 1183.0 in aggregate.
TCU follows WVU in second in all categories (2336.9, 2378.1, 4715.0) with Mindy Miles leading the way for the Horned Frogs. Miles' averages of 584.1 in smallbore, 597.4 in air rifle and 1181.5 in aggregate currently place her eighth, second and fourth nationally. Other individuals to watch this weekend are Kentucky's Henrik Larsen and Alaska-Fairbanks' Sagen Maddalena. Larsen leads the nation in smallbore and aggregate at 592.3 and 1188.8, while Massalena is currently first in air rifle at 597.6 and second in aggregate at 1184.1.
In Their Own Words With Robert Broadstreet, Ben Estes and Ivan Roe Â
Your class has accomplished so much in your four years, what does it mean to know you will leave behind a legacy like that?
Ivan Roe: It means a lot to me. Our freshman year, we knew we could change the dynamic of this team and that was our biggest goal to achieve while we were here and we did it. Plus, it's nice to leave something behind that we can be proud of.
Ben Estes: I believe that we changed the culture of our team for the better. We changed it into a winning legacy. When I first got here we finished eighth at nationals and that was the first time in four years that Murray State made an appearance at the championship, but in the he last three years that has changed. Everyone now expects Murray state to be there, and not just make it, but be one of the top teams there.
Robert Broadstreet: It feels good to leave a big thumb print on Murray State's rifle program, but more importantly than leaving a legacy, I hope I will be leaving an example for future Murray State rifle athletes to follow. Championships will continue to come with or without me, but the attitude of the younger shooters is what makes a team, a team and I want to leave a positive impression on our future champions.
Â
This is your fourth NCAA championship. What do you know now going into your fourth that you wished you knew going into your first?
IR: I wish I'd known how hard this specific match was going to be to shoot. I've shot overseas in multiple World Cups and the Olympic Trials, nothing compares to how mentally grueling this match is. If I'd known that going in my first year I might have been better prepared.
BE: That in this sport no one can stop you from winning the whole thing. Also, that crazy things happen to everyone on championship day and no one is untouchable. Â
RB: This match is just like all the others. Approach it ready to adapt to change and have fun.Â
Â
What is your favorite memory, on or off the range, over your four years?
IR: My favorite memories are the times where we would go out to the lake at the end of the year as a team and have a bonfire on the beach. On the range, my favorite memory was when we broke 4700 for the first time ever.
BE: The first time that Murray State joined the "4700 club", as we call it. That was an eye opening day, it raised the team's expectations for every match after that. That one match made the scores of every other match so much higher just because we knew we could do it.Â
RB: I can't pinpoint one "favorite" memory, what I've always enjoyed is the interactions with all the other athletes from different sports. The different sports offer a diversity of personalities to our athletic program, a diversity that I didn't experience at home.
Â
What have your teammates, especially your two classmates, meant to you over your time in Murray?
IR: My team has been my family through both the good and bad parts, but specifically the two guys who came in with me mean the world to me. If given the chance to go back and change my choice to come here I wouldn't do it because those two have challenged me to be a better person both on and off the range. I would not have had that anywhere else.
BE: When I first got here I automatically had a friend group even though I was six hours from home. Having Ivan and Bobby at most matches just made matches almost routine and took out a lot of the nervousness, just another day at the office. They always had my back on and off the range.Â
RB: It is special to have two other classmates to share a passion with. The three of us really feed off each other's energy and that is what has made us so dynamic the last four, and especially the last two years. I have to give special praise to Ben because we shot with each other at the same high school, so it's nice to end my shooting journey with someone that I started it with.Â
Â
What is one piece of advice you would give to an incoming freshman that wish someone had given to you at that stage in regards to being a student-athlete?
IR: I would tell them exactly what Kelsey Emme told me my freshman year, "don't forget why you're doing this. Yes, it's for a score to help the team, but you shoot because you love shooting and always shoot for yourself."
BE: To learn that when you're on the range that shooting is all that matters. When you're in class, class is all that matters. Do one thing at a time and always give it you're all. Focus is the key.Â
RB: Enjoy your time it goes quickly.
Â
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