Aiming for History

In collegiate rifle shooting, Georgia Southern’s Rifle Team has made its mark, with a particularly stellar performance in the 2023 season. The team not only claimed the 2023 Southern Conference (SoCon) Rifle title but also set new records and earned prestigious accolades.

“I’m really happy for the team and to cap off a great season with a SoCon Championship,” said Head Coach Soren Butler. “We’re walking away from this weekend with a few things to work on but I’m really happy with the performance our team gave. We had a lot of great individual performances.”

After winning the smallbore title with a conference record 2,315, the squad took third in air rifle with a 2,342, posting a conference-meet record of 4,657 and rolling past rivals North Georgia and The Citadel by 41 points. This victory was a successful defense of the title the Eagles won the previous year and is the third title for the Eagles in as many seasons.

Amy Visconti, a junior from Champlain, New York, won the individual smallbore SoCon title with a career-high score of 586. Addy Burrow, a senior from Williamson, Georgia, followed behind in second place, and Ashley Judson, a senior from Acworth, Georgia, came in third. Judson was also given the Pinnacle Award, given to the student-athlete on the championship team with the highest cumulative GPA. Visconti also earned first-team smallbore all-conference honors.

Burrow has been a standout performer for the Eagles this season. She was named both the Smallbore and Air Rifle Athlete of the Year, and her performance earned her a place at the NCAA Air Rifle Championships, where she competed as an individual in air rifle. Despite the pressure, Burrow performed admirably, shooting a 591 in qualification with 46 center shots and a 100 series.

Burrow’s achievements didn’t stop there. She was named an All-American by the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Associate (CRCA), becoming just the second All-American in the program’s history. She was named a second-team All-American in smallbore, a third-team All-American in combined (aggregate), and an honorable mention All-American in air rifle.

The awards are based on season averages, where Burrow averaged a school-record 585.143 in smallbore, including a school-record 589 at Morehead State. She averaged 594 in air rifle with a career-best of 598 at Jacksonville State and set a school record with a 1,179 aggregate average. She posted the 14 highest aggregate scores in school history, including a school-record 1,186 at Jacksonville State.

“We’re really happy that Addy had this opportunity to experience the NCAA Championships,” said Coach Butler. “I’m sure she wanted a higher score, but she had a really good performance which is something we’ve tried prioritizing all year.”

Burrow will return for her fifth year, supporting an excellent team of shooters looking forward to another successful season. Butler says she’s ready to start working on the next season, and believes the Georgia Southern Rifle Team will continue its trajectory of success.

“I think this team is just getting started and we cannot wait to get to work on next year,” he said.