Rifle
- Practices and competitions were held in the White Building.
- Rifle grew out of the Student Army training program during WW1
- Men and Women competed together for many years in postal and telegraphic matches against the best collegiate teams in
the country.
- In rifle, you are required to relax, focus, and fire between heartbeats
- In 1915 the men’s team was coached by ROTC officers
o Rifle gained varsity status in 1922
- In 1925 women’s rifle is named an intercollegiate minor sport
- In 1951 rifle was temporarily discontinued.
- Richard Gogolklewicz – has the highest record for total points scored in a single season in 1962
o He averaged .278 in 1963
- Tight jackets and arm braces help to steady shooters when firing.
- Early rifle teams grew out of Student Army Training programs in 1917
- PSU claimed nations largest rifle club membership.
- Early shooters competed in prone, standing, kneeling, and sitting positions
- In 1927 Captain Don Frear led the lions to Appalachian league title with a 391/400pt score.
- Rifle is the 1st women’s sport beginning in 1926
o Women’s teams would shoot in different ranges at different locations and share the results by telegraph or mail.
o In 1947, the team’s 125 members won a national intercollegiate telegraphic matches.
- In 1942 5 shooters qualified for the US War Dept. intercollegiate team (16-4 season).
- Jeannett Ritter – shot 100 (perfect) in 1928
- Shooters aimed at Targets 50ft away
- Using smallbore free rifle, a shooter took 10 shots each in standing, kneeling, and prone positions, firing about 1 shot per minute.
o Bulls-eyes are worth 10pts
o Farther from the center earned less
o Quality shooters score 270/300
- Shooters practice self-control and extreme concentration.
o They must relax their body, hold their breath, and slow down their heart rate
o They wear shooting jackets to support the weight of the guns
o Targets are 50ft away, so the slightest movements matter.
- Coach Virginia Harpster coached the first women’s team when it became a varsity sport.
- Glenn Dubis became an All-American in 1979
o Competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.
- After WW2, riflers aimed for maximum 300 scores
- After 1963 Mary Stohr won PA women’s position championship for target shooting.
- In the 1970’s men and women competed together.
- Sherri Landis: scored consistent 270+ scores from 1973-1976
- Women’s Winchester 521 rifle with sling and shooting sight was loaned to the university for competitions from the military.
o Remington 22 Long Rifle Match Master was used by women in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Men's and Women's Rifle was discontinued in 1982