Six NDSU Marksmanship Club rifle and pistol shooters competed in the 2017 NRA National Collegiate Rifle Club and Pistol Championships March 17-24 at Ft. Benning, Georgia.
The shooters qualified for national competition at the 2017 NRA Collegiate Sectional Matches held at the Red River Regional Marksmanship Center in West Fargo, Feb. 4-5. Qualification for the national competition is based on minimum individual and team scores in rifle competition and from the top 10 teams and top 30 individuals nationally in the pistol competition.
The air rifle team consisted of Walker Brandt, a senior in computer science from Steele, North Dakota; Madison Marchus, a sophomore in criminal justice form Wolford, North Dakota; Joseph Frisinger, a freshman in civil engineering form Harwood, North Dakota; and Andrew Wherley, a junior in natural resource management from Mohall, North Dakota. The air rifle team finished in 7th place during the competition.
The small-bore rifle (.22 caliber) team consisted of Brandt, Frisinger, Wherley and Nick Anderson, a freshman in marketing from Blaine, Minnesota. The small-bore team finished in 10th place.
Pryce Pinney, a junior in agricultural systems management from Johnstown, Nebraska, qualified for the pistol championship matches and was nationally ranked in 50-meter free pistol. He also qualified for 10-meter open air pistol and 25-meter standard pistol competition. He finished in 7th place in standard pistol, 10th place in free pistol and 14th place in open air pistol. Approximately 45 to 50 of the best collegiate pistol shooters in the U.S. competed in each of the pistol matches. Pinney also received All-American Honorable Mention honors based on academics and competition score history.
The club’s rifle coach is Mitchell Godbout and pistol coaches are James Ladwig and Eric Pueppke.
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