Take the Shot for a Championship
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 21, 2013) — The University of Kentucky team was "firing on all cylinders" this past weekend as they handily shot better than all the other teams to win their first national championship.
(We’re not talking about basketball.) We’re talking about pistol-packing Wildcat champion marksmen.
This past weekend, at Ft. Benning, Ga., the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit hosted the inaugural Scholastic Pistol Program Collegiate National Championships, and the UK team brought home the championship title. Two UK squads, each with four shooters, competed against teams from the University of Vermont, Yale, Texas A&M, Florida State University, the University of Florida and other schools.
UK won with a score of 205.48 seconds, compared to the next best Vermont team with 229.57 seconds, bringing home the championship title and a $10,000 scholastic shooting trust fund.
“Times like that are unheard of in scholastic shooting sports to this point,” said UK marksman team captain Daniel Birkenhauer.
In addition to the recent championship, the UK pistol marksman team also won the UK Scholastic Pistol Shoot in February accumulating more than $15,000 in prize money.
“They call the sport ‘steel challenge,’ and it involves shooting ‘unmodified’ pistols at steel targets ranging from 5 to 25 meters away,” explained Mark Lattin, director of outdoor pursuits of club sports for the Division of Student Affairs.
“After a long drive down from Lexington we looked a little rusty during our practice session. I was nervous going into (the) match," said Brandon Ironmonger, UK coach, "but we came out strong and shaved nearly 20 seconds off of our last match time. I am extremely proud of how they handled the pressure of shooting against some of the best college teams in the country.
“We really are firing on all cylinders now!” added Ironmonger.
The student organization includes club president Ezekial Walters, a business major from Muhlenberg County; vice president Braxton Montgomery, a community leadership major of Boone County; vice president Allan Jeanjauquet, a mechanical engineering major from Houston, Texas; Ryan Bradley, a mechanical engineering major from Georgetown, Ky.; treasurer John Weaver, a dentistry major of Lexington; team captain Daniel Birkenhauer, a dentistry major from Campbell County; Shaun Heward, a dentistry major of Salt Lake City, Utah; and Alyssa Broner, an equine management major of Sadieville, Ky. The assistant coach is Kevin Carroll.
For more information, visit ukpistol.com or email djbirk2@me.com.