UNG rifle team captures fifth consecutive Georgia State Championship

For the fifth year in a row, the University of North Georgia (UNG) rifle team claimed the Georgia State Championship on Oct. 14 with a victory against Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia.

UNG has won the championship every year since 2013-14.

"It's always nice when they win," said Tori Kostecki, UNG rifle team head coach. "They have been working really hard."

Their hard work has paid off. Dakota Spivey, a junior education major from Dahlonega, Georgia, was the top performer of the match, scoring an 1,154 between the two disciplines. Ricky Medina, a freshman nursing major from Kennesaw, Georgia, finished one point behind Spivey, including personal bests in air rifle and smallbore.

Two more shooters earned personal bests with Kimberlee Nettles, a freshman early education major from Waycross, Georgia, scoring a 591 in air rifle while Brianna Shaw, a junior education major from Agra, Kansas, earning a 562 in smallbore.

Hitting personal bests is not new for the rifle team this year. The team has broken at least seven school records.

"We broke five school records in the second match of the year," Kostecki said, explaining her team is ranked No. 17 nationally. "I believe we will still keep going up in the national ranking."

UNG is about halfway through its season with the national championship qualifier set for Feb. 17 and the conference championship March 3.