STATESBORO - Georgia Southern rifle closes out the team portion of the 2018-19 season this weekend at the Southern Conference Rifle Championships, hosting the two-day event at the Shooting Sports Education Center on campus. Admission for both days is free.

The SoCon will crown team champions in both the smallbore and air rifle disciplines as well as an overall champion. In addition, individual champions will be crowned in each discipline. Smallbore competition will take place Saturday, followed by air rifle on Sunday.

The Schedule *
Saturday, March 2 (Smallbore)
8-9:45 am - Relay 1 (Courtney Weekley, Point 1; Caroline Brakeville, Point 4)
10:30 am-12:15 pm - Relay 2 (Lydia Odlin, Point 10)
1-2:45 pm - Relay 3 (Rosemary Kramer, Point 9; Rachel Gray, Point 14)
4 pm - Smallbore finals (Top 8 scorers)

Sunday, March 3 (Air Rifle)
7:45-9 am - Relay 1 (Courtney Weekley, Point 7)
9:45-11 am - Relay 2 (Lydia Odlin, Point 7; Caroline Brakeville, Point 8)
11:45 am-1 pm - Relay 3 (Rachel gray, Point 6; Rosemary Kramer, Point 11)
2:15 pm - Air Rifle finals (Top 8 scorers)
3:15 pm - Awards Ceremony

* - all firing points subject to change

Eight teams will be competing for the 2019 title. UAB, The Citadel (co-ed and women's teams), Georgia Southern, North Georgia, VMI (co-ed and women's teams) and Wofford will compete this weekend.

Rifle returned to the SoCon in 2017, adding to the conference's rich rifle history. Current members The Citadel have won a league-best 10 team titles and VMI claimed two titles during the league's first incarnation (1956-85). West Virginia's John Writer, the 1965 and 1966 SoCon individual champion, won a gold medal in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and a silver in 1968 in Mexico City, both in rifle three positions. ETSU became a player on the national scene from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, winning seven straight SoCon titles and placing third at the inaugural NCAA Championships in 1980. The Bucs finished no worse than fourth at the NCAA Championships each year from 1980-85. North Georgia has taken the two team titles since the return of SoCon rifle.

Senior Rosemary Kramer will represent both Georgia Southern and the Southern Conference at next weekend's NCAA Air Rifle Championship in Morgantown, West Virginia. She will be the first league shooter since 1985 to compete at the event and the first in program history.

Live scoring will be available and will be sent out Saturday morning.