The depth of St. Louis U. High’s rifle team shined through last Saturday, as the two teams put forth by SLUH in the MO CMP 3PAR State Championship placed second and third among a field of teams. SLUH’s top team put up 2263 points and fell only to the Ozark precision rifle team, which posted 2311. 

Senior team captain Sam Quinlivan led the top team with a 573, good for fourth place overall, followed by junior Michael Lumetta (567), senior Sean Madden (564), and senior team captain Grant Grabowski (559). 

The Jr. Bills also secured third place with their second team, which was led by senior Will Hally, who earned 7th place individually with a 568. 

Quinlivan and the team still had higher hopes for the meet, though.

“Well I think it being the first away match had a lot to do with the low scores,” said Quinlivan. “I think that for the seniors especially the Grande Project really made getting practices a bit of a struggle which would then go on to impact their match results.”

The Jr. Bills’ scores were lower in all positions, but shooting from the prone position (flat on the ground) was an especially weak point for the team. The total prone score was a 774, meaning an average of 193.5 per shooter compared to Ozark’s 198.25 average. 

 “Prone is a position that gets overlooked,” said Quinlivan. “It is often seen as the easiest position which leads many on the team to focus their efforts on standing and kneeling, which is understandable.”

Unfortunately, the team’s schedule is still in a state of flux due to the recent Covid developments. Because of Covid cases at the team’s long time rival, Montgomery Bell Academy, MBA is unsure if they will be allowed to travel to SLUH and the Jr. Bills will not be allowed to travel to MBA.  However, if COVID cases follow the same trends as last year, there is a chance the Jr. Bills will be allowed to travel to them later in the season.

Covid has also brought back the shower curtains between shooters in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. Diminishing numbers had made it possible to remove the dividers, but the recent spike has required them to be put back up, which has caused the team additional frustration. 

Practices will continue in the meantime while the team waits for clarity on future meets.