Brother Joe Fischer (Eta Gamma/Morehead State 2018) had been involved in some type of shooting since he was in the seventh grade. He had always hoped that he would be able to get a scholarship to shoot on a college team. Last year he accomplished that goal when he signed on with Morehead State.
“Rifle is an interesting sport that not many people know about,” said Fischer.
Last month, Fischer was one of three members of the Morehead State rifle program to be named as Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Scholastic All-Americans after posting a 3.60 grade point average during the fall semester.
“The Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association consists of the coaches from the 33 schools who compete in NCAA rifle,” said Fischer. “For our competitive shooting program, we are a division 1 NCAA rifle team, and just like any sports team in the NCAA, we compete against other colleges. We have roughly 11 matches per year – some are home matches and some are away matches,” he continued.
During the rifle matches each member of the team will shoot 60 shots in smallbore and 60 shots in air rifle.
“For smallbore we shoot a .22 caliber. During the match, we will shoot 20 shots from three different positions: kneeling, prone and standing,” said Fischer. “For air rifle we shoot .177 caliber pellets and 60 shots in standing position only,” he said.
Each member is scored ten points per shot for a possible score of 600 in both the smallbore and air rifle competitions.
“For smallbore, the distance we shoot is 50 feet and for air rifle the distance is 10 meters,” said Fischer. “We shoot targets that are about an inch and a half in diameter, but our real target is the ten ring. The ten ring is about the size of a period at the end of a sentence,” Fischer exclaimed.
Brother Fischer and two other members of the Morehead State rifle program were featured in an article on the Morehead State website.
This article was posted with written permission from Matt Segal, MSU Athletic Media Relations Director.
Three Rifle Shooters Named Scholastic All-Americans
By Matt Segal/MSU Athletic Media Relations
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Junior Taylor Johnson, senior Jumell Wilson and freshman Joe Fischer from the Morehead State rifle program have been tabbed as Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association Scholastic All-Americans after posting 3.2-or-better grade point averages during the fall semester.
"Taylor, Jumell and Joe are well-rounded student-athletes," Head Coach Alan Joseph said. "They are the type of people we want in our program. We want individuals who can compete at a high level, but also young men and women who have good character and take their academics seriously."
Johnson, a native of Eubank, Ky., notched a 4.00 GPA as an elementary education major. She averaged a 562.2 in air rifle and 543.0 in smallbore en route to a 1105.2 aggregrate score this school year.
"A 4.00 GPA speaks for itself," Joseph said. "Taylor sets the bar very high for her teammates in the classroom. We are proud of Taylor for everything she's accomplished academically. She had a great record when I came to Morehead State and has not skipped a beat this school year."
Wilson, who hails from Valley Stream, N.Y., recorded a 3.83 GPA as a double major in university studies and radiology. He averaged a 561.0 in air rifle and 555.3 in smallbore en route to a 1116.3 aggregrate score this school year.
"Jumell was in Winchester for his clinicals every week this past semester," Joseph said. "It's my understanding he represented our program and university well while getting some terrific experience. Jumell has a bright future ahead of him with whatever he ends up doing after college."
Fischer, a native of Stoystown, Pa., registered a 3.60 GPA as an engineering technology major. He averaged a 570.2 in smallbore and 567.6 in air rifle en route to a 1137.8 aggregrate score this school year.
"Joe also showed a lot of motivation and determination during the fall semester," Joseph said. "I've always thought the first semester of a college career is the most difficult, and Joe did very well. I'm proud of him for everything he's accomplished at the range and in the classroom."
Morehead State wrapped up its 2014-15 schedule at the NCAA Qualifier in late February. The Eagles were ranked in the nation's top 20 throughout the school year. Visit MSUEagles.com, Twitter.com/MSUAthletics and Facebook.com/MSUEagles for more on MSU rifle.
"Our team GPA has been very good in my time with the program, and we want to make it even better in the future," Joseph said. "There are lots of Morehead State student-athletes who do well in the classroom, which is great to see. We want to be one of the trend setters in our department."
To view the original article, visit http://www.msueagles.com/news/2015/3/26/RIFLE_0326151412.aspx?path=mrifle