#STATEment Made, Pack Rifle Takes Down No. 3 Kentucky

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The 12^th-ranked NC State rifle team put together one of its best performances in program history to earn a #STATEment win against No. 3 Kentucky Sunday afternoon inside the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center at the U.S. Military Academy.

NC State fired a team score of 4665 to hand the third-ranked Wildcats, who recorded a team score of 4653, their first loss of the season. The Wolfpack improves to 17-3 overall and 4-2 in Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) action, while Kentucky falls to 8-1 and 5-1 in conference matches.

The win was the Pack's highest ranked victory in program history and also the first against Kentucky since joining the GARC.

Miller's Minute
"I'm so, so proud of this team," said head coach Keith Miller. "They're thinking the right things, doing the right things, doing things the right way, and supporting each other in every way. They believe in themselves and what they are capable of, and are not afraid to dream of performing at the highest level.

"With this kind of effort and attitude, there is no limit to what they can accomplish."

Highlights From the Win
- The Wolfpack broke the program record in air rifle, smallbore and total team score – the second time this season it has accomplished the feat.
- NC State's team score of 4665 bested the previous record of 4654 by 11 points. The squad also bettered its air rifle record by four (2354) and smallbore record by seven (2311).
- Individually, junior Lucas Kozeniesky set the program record for total aggregate score at 1185 and smallbore score with a 591 clip.
- NC State shooters fired a total of 16 personal-best scores in the match.

Inside the Match
- NC State fired an astounding score of 2311 in the smallbore discipline to own a 20-point lead over Kentucky heading into the air rifle competition.
- The Wildcats charted a 2362 in air rifle, but the Wolfpack was closely behind with a 2354 clip to secure the win.

- Kozeniesky turned in a stellar performance, earning first-place honors in air rifle (594), smallbore (591) and aggregate total (1185).
- Caitlyn Ford fired career-best scores of 591 in air rifle and 579 in smallbore to record a personal best 1170 in aggregate total. She tallied the third best air rifle and aggregate scores in the match and claimed fourth place in air rifle.
- Derya Pekari notched a career high 574 in smallbore and matched her career best in air rifle at 584 to set a personal record 1158 in aggregate total.

Match Scores

	Smallbore	Air Rifle	Aggregate Total
Lucas Kozeniesky	591**	594	1185**
Caitlyn Ford	579*	591*	1170*
Derya Pekari	574*	584*	1158*
Alex Martin	567	576	1142
George Williams	559*	580	1139*
Claire Spina	563*	572*	1135*
William Marciniak	567	562	1129
Tyler Lefebvre	561	567	1128
Cullen Wargo	548*	567*	1115*
Daniel Cliff	N/A	585	N/A
Team Total	2311**	2354**	4665**

*Indicates career best
**Indicates program record

Up Next
NC State has a quick turnaround as the Pack returns to the range tomorrow morning to take on No. 10 Army. Action is slated to begin at 9 a.m. inside the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center.

#STATEment

#STATEment Made, Pack Rifle Takes Down No. 3 Kentucky

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Players Mentioned

Daniel Cliff

Caitlyn Ford

Lucas Kozeniesky

Tyler Lefebvre

Will Marciniak

Alex Martin

Derya Pekari

Claire Spina

Cullen Wargo

George Williams