Last week the Ohio State University Pistol Team won its third consecutive national championship—the eighth in the program’s history. With a score of 6,294 points, the Buckeyes bested Army (6,188 points) and The Citadel (6,187) in the 2016 NRA Intercollegiate Pistol Championships in Fort Benning, Ga.
While a championship win during Head Coach Donna Knisley’s first year is a testament to her coaching abilities, this victory also proves the team’s strong recruiting practices. After last season, the Buckeyes lost half their roster to graduation, but a strong contingent of underclassmen seamlessly filled their shoes, with two of them—sophomore Irina Andrianova (Women’s Individual Aggregate) and freshman Anthony McCollum (Standard Pistol)—winning titles.
Knisley told the Columbus Dispatch she hopes the win guarantees the team’s continued viability on campus. “We’re not in the NCAA, we’re in the NRA. So we’re always kind of on sticks as far as ‘Will we make it this year?’ But I’ve been able to recruit quite a few good shooters the last few years, and I think that’s helped us.”
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