MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team sits in first place after shooting a smallbore score of 2363 at the WVU Fall Classic on Saturday afternoon, at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building in Morgantown.

No. 7 Air Force is second (2336), No. 10 Nebraska is third (2334) and No. 8 Murray State is fourth (2321) following the opening day of action. The Mountaineers enter tomorrow’s air rifle portion of competition leading by 27 points over Air Force.

Six Mountaineers packed the smallbore leaderboard, with six occupying the top six spots.

Senior Molly McGhin paced WVU’s efforts in the match, with a 594. Freshman Griffin Lake posted a mark of 592 to finish in second. Both efforts by McGhin and Lake were above their season averages of 590.2 and 590.0.

Senior Matt Sanchez finished just behind in third with his mark of 589, one point off matching a career high.

Junior Natalie Perrin collected a season high, 588, which is two points higher than she has shot this season. The mark is just one point off tying her career mark of 589. Junior Gavin Barnick produced a similar 588 as the pair finished tied for fourth place.

Senior Tal Engler claimed sixth place after hitting a 587.

Freshman Maximus Duncan shot a career high of 583 in smallbore, besting his previous mark of 580. Senior Becca Lamb posted a 580 while Fifth-year senior Malori Brown scored a 578.

The scores of Barnick, Brown, Lake, McGhin, and Sanchez counted toward the Mountaineers’ team total.

West Virginia wraps up the second annual WVU Fall Classic with air rifle on Sunday, Nov. 12, at the Bill McKenzie Rifle Range. The first air rifle relay also is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET, with sighters and prep time set for 8:45 a.m. The second relay will take place at 11 a.m., following a 15-minute sighting period. Sunday’s air rifle exhibition final will conclude action from the WVU Fall Classic.