The St. Louis U. High rifle team pushed through the Covid restrictions and shot in Washington, Mo. for the first and possibly last match of the season. Due to the pandemic, the match has had to be extended and a few teams have yet to shoot. The rankings will not be finalized until this Friday, but the team sits well and expects to finish with a high ranking. The team still has some rust to knock off, but the shooters showed promise.

While the range at Washington High School did not have all the precautions the SLUH range has, the team still took all possible precautions to avoid a COVID breakout. Prior to the match, all shooters filled out a form and had their temperatures taken. Social distancing was enforced and masks were worn throughout the match. 

The first relay of the match took place on Saturday, Dec. 5 and the final relay of the tournament will be on Friday, Dec. 11. 

As of Wednesday, Dec. 9, the top SLUH rifle team—composed of team captain Ryan Janson, senior Nick Storer, junior Sam Quinlavan and senior Cole Stranczek—sits with a 1672/2400 without Janson’s score.

On the top team, two out of the three shooters shot above 560/600. If Janson can come in with a score above 560, then the top team looks very good for taking first place. 

SLUH’s precision team had an average score of 550. There were seven shooters who shot below 550 and six shooters who shot above 550. Junior Andrew Kessler shot an impressive 576.

While overall the team shot well, there were still some dips that could be addressed. However, the scores do show a growth towards better shooting next match.

“I think it’s just been so long since we’ve had a match,” said junior Grant Grabowski. “I just think we had to get warmed up and we will hit the next match twice as hard.”