Akron Zips Rifle Club Win WIRC Championship

by
posted on March 1, 2017
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
zips1.jpg

For the last four months, the Akron Zips Rifle Club has been competing in home matches and sending in scores to be ranked against other colleges in the Western Intercollegiate Rifle Conference (WIRC). In February, all conference participants headed to Purdue University for the WIRC Championship. Scores were tallied from not only from the championship match, but also from the previous four postal matches and compiled at one awards banquet. Last year, the Zips were successful in taking home a very large trophy. They repeated the feat this year.

Saturday started early with brushing snow off the vehicles and cold bores on the range. However, once the Zips started warming up, there was no stopping them. Luke Massie led the team in smallbore with an impressive score of 558. Hot on his heals was freshman Liz Bark scoring a new personal best of 556. Both scores landed Massie and Bark as second and third place individuals for the match. Chris Thomas fired a near-season high of 548, awarding him the fifth most improved smallbore individual in the conference. Additionally, Gabby Pitre fired a new personal high score of 540—after only one week of practice with her new gun!

Once all shots were fired, the combined score of 2202 was enough for the Zips to win the smallbore WIRC Championship. When this score was combined with all previous team postal scores, the Zips secured the win for overall regular season team champion.

The Zips were determined not to be distracted when it came to air rifle. Leading was sophomore Brandon Meier, who shattered his previous best with a 576—winning individual match champion. Another record-breaking personal best performance came from Nick Haas who crushed his old personal best by firing a 553, landing him as the third most improved air rifle conference competitor. Duplicating their smallbore performance, the Zips dominated the air rifle event by winning gold in both the championship match and overall regular season with postal scores.

The Zips will next compete at the 2017 NRA Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championship at Fort Benning, GA, on March 17-19.

Latest

Mullers ARC July2025 1
Mullers ARC July2025 1

NRA Announces Dianna & Ryan Muller As Brand Ambassadors For America’s Rifle Challenge

NRA announces Dianna & Ryan Muller as brand ambassadors for America’s Rifle Challenge program, promoting AR-15 marksmanship, safety and training.

Eley’s New Trial Packs Let Competition Shooters Find Their Perfect Rimfire Match Ammo

Eley launches trial ammo packs to help shooters test and match precision .22 LR rounds to their firearms.

Ava Downs Captures Junior Olympic Trap Title On Home Turf

Hillsdale’s Ava Downs takes gold in women’s trap at the 2025 USA Shooting Junior Olympic Championships hosted at the Halter Center.

Brandon Powell Claims 8th Georgia State Sporting Clays Title

Brandon Powell wins his eighth Georgia State Sporting Clays Championship, continuing his dominance with multiple top finishes at the 2025 tournament.

Vincent Hancock Claims 30th ISSF Medal As Team USA Dominates 2025 Lonato World Cup

Team USA shines at 2025 ISSF Lonato World Cup with golds from Vincent Hancock and Sam Simonton, plus silver for Dania Vizzi.

Jon Shue Clinches Third Straight NRA National Precision Pistol Championship Title

Shue continues his dominant streak in bullseye pistol shooting after 2025 NRA National Precision Pistol Championship victory.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.