Alison Weisz Earns First National Title

Alison Weisz
Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

The Ole Miss Rifle team traveled to Fort Benning, Georgia on Sunday, June 25 to compete in the USA Shooting National Championships for air rifle, pistol and smallbore. The Rebels brought back many awards this past week, but it all started with recent graduate, Alison Weisz, as she earned herself a spot on the National Team.

The shooters began by completing two days of qualification matches, with competitors in the Olympic events and the addition of a finals match. Points from the two qualification matches, plus points earned based on rank in the finals were combined to determine the final score.
Weisz finished with an 840.4 in the 10m air rifle competition, securing her first National Championship title and nomination to the National Team. Her winning score was a result of a 419.8 and a 416.6 over two days, plus the addition of four points from her rank. Weisz’s first place finish was .1 ahead of Seagen Maddalena from Alaska Fairbanks and 1.1 points under the world record.
“The whole weekend was wonderful and so much fun,” Weisz said. “The air rifle match itself was a remarkable experience and I learned more about myself as an athlete. It was exhilarating to see big results from all of the training I’ve put in. I think I made a statement for myself in Georgia.”
Weisz continued her success throughout the week as she placed eighth in smallbore shooting a 1161, one place behind incoming freshman Emily Cock. Cock was not the only new Reb to leave her mark, as Kamilla Kisch, Dana Buesseler and Sophia Cuozzo added competitive scores.
Three returners represented Ole Miss as Harley Gardner, Alana Kelly and Randi Loudin also left their mark in Georgia. Gardner, who competed in two of the three events, came out with a 14th place finish in prone and a 34th place finish in smallbore. Loudin earned a spot on the podium as she took third in prone with a 1236.2.
“Last week was a great halfway mark for the summer to see how training has been going and what I will be working on leading up to the beginning of the season,” Loudin said. “While I was shooting the only real focus I had was shooting the deepest ten possible. The heat at Ft. Benning was pretty crazy to shoot in, but in the end adds another element to the competition. It was great to see my coaches and teammates again and I am looking forward to being back in Oxford in the Fall.”
By the Numbers:
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Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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