The Georgia Military College Rifle team qualified for and attended the Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference [WIRC] Championship held at the University of Akron in Akron, OH, February 23-25, 2024.

Team members Emily Goitia of Loganville, GA; Enzzo Albert of Aventura, FL; and Andrew Maier of Acworth, GA, achieved personal best in many areas and brought home awards in recognition. The rifle season consists of four postal matches, one each month, October through January, followed by a Championship in February for qualified athletes. The course of fire for collegiate shooting events is 60 shots total, with a perfect shot scored as a 10. Often, 10-shot strings are used to track event progress, and an ideal 10-shot string is a score of 100.

Small bore qualification is a 60 shot three position event consisting of 20 shots in each position of kneeling, prone, and standing with a time limit of 1.5 hours.

Returning team member Emily Goitia scored the highest on the Bulldog team, with 541 with 14 center shots. In kneeling, she shot 2 ten shot strings of 89 and 92 for 181, a new personal best. A 93 and 97 earned her 190 in prone, and a pair of 85s in standing brought her to 170. Emily ranked 17th out of 52 athletes competing in Smallbore.

Freshman Enzzo Albert shot 91 and 92 for a kneeling total of 183. Prone strings of 92 and 93 equaling 185, and a standing position total of 167 from strings of 83 and 84. His 535 with seven center shots ranked him 22 in the small-bore event.

Cadet Andrew Maier, returning to shooting sports after a 2-year break to play football, earned a 469 with three center shots. Andrew scored 79 and 73 in kneeling [152 total, a new personal best in the kneeling position]; 90 and 83 in prone for 173; and strings of 70 and 74, equaling 144, earned him a season personal best at the championship.

Air rifle qualification is a 60-shot standing position event shot in 1.25 hours.

Enzzo Albert led the Bulldogs in air rifle, finishing 10th overall out of 59 competitors. His score of 565 with 23 center shots was a season personal best. Additionally, Enzzo finished the match by firing ten tens in a row, ending his air rifle event with a string totaling 100. Only one other athlete at the event achieved this accomplishment at the championship.

Emily shot a 562-18x for an 18th-place ranking in the event. During his match, Andrew shot a 513-10x, stringing together four 10s in a row.

To top off the event, Enzzo Albert was recognized as the 5th most improved air rifle athlete and earned a spot on the second All-Conference Smallbore Rifle Team. We congratulate all our athletes and appreciate the support Georgia Military College offers the team. Go, Bulldogs Rifle!

To learn more about our rifle program and our entire athletics department, please visit our website at www.gmcbulldogs.edu