Dec. 4, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. - Three members of the Ole Miss women's rifle team competed in the 2012 USA Shooting Winter Airgun Championships this past weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Winter Airgun Championships featured over 225 competitors including seven Olympians and a total of 34 shooters representing USA Shooting's National, Junior and Development Teams competing over three days in Airgun events including men's/women's air rifle and air pistol.

Junior Melissa Quartarone led the Rebels at the Airgun Championships, finishing in 15th place with an aggregate score of 1166.  On day one, she shot a 386.  Day two, Quartarone posted a 390 in the open relay and then won a shoot off to reach the junior finals where she tallied a 102.0.   On the final day of competition, Quartarone shot another 390 in the relay, but just missed out on the finals by a couple of shots.

Fellow juniors Rena Goodwin and Alivia Yeager also competed at the Winter Airgun Championships.  Goodwin totaled an 1152 and Yeager finished with an 1140.

"Overall it was a great experience. I think the girls learned some valuable things about themselves," head coach Valerie Boothe said.  "We may not have finished as high as we wanted, but the effort and determination was there.  I think that will help bridge the break until we compete again in January."

The Rebels return to the range Jan. 19 when they host Kentucky at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center.

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