UNG student wins national rifle championship

Madeleine Godwin, a computer science and cyber security junior at the University of North Georgia (UNG), won the title of air rifle national champion for the second time at the National Rifle Association's Intercollegiate Rifle Club National Championships.

The championships were held March 17-19 at the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit in Fort Benning, Georgia where the top non-NCAA collegiate rifle athletes in the country compete.

"I was very nervous going into this match, but as it progressed I was gaining more confidence with each shot and ended up shooting a perfect score. It was very difficult competing this year mentally, but I was able to excel because of the continuous support from my coach, family and friends," Godwin said.

Godwin was also named on the First and Second Team All-Stars, which are based on combined scores from the qualifying rounds in February and the recent championship. She was one of only three athletes earning First Team honors in both the air rifle and smallbore rifle brackets, and she earned the top total in the air rifle category.

At the same competition in 2015, Godwin took all three championships – air rifle, smallbore rifle and the aggregate championship.