GENERAL
Georgia Southern wins 2022 Southern Conference rifle championship
Georgia Southern’s Judson wins third individual title, postseason honors announced
LEXINGTON, Va. – Georgia Southern claimed its first Southern Conference team rifle title with an aggregate score of 4,603 at the 2022 SoCon Rifle Championship hosted by VMI on Saturday and Sunday. Georgia Southern’s Ashley Judson was tabbed the air rifle athlete of the year, which marks Judson’s third straight year earning the honor. Judson was also named the Pinnacle Award winner, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.
North Georgia, who clinched the air rifle title last season, took home the 2022 team air rifle crown with a score of 2,340, finishing three points ahead of Georgia Southern’s 2,337. The Nighthawks’ 2,340 performance marks the highest air rifle score posted at the conference championship since the league resurrected rifle as a sponsored sport in 2016-17, with North Georgia defeating its program-record and conference-record score of 2,330 posted last season.
The Eagles finished first overall with 4,603 after ending day one as the smallbore champions. North Georgia was second overall at 4,594, while The Citadel finished third (4,572) and UAB placed fourth (4,567). VMI took home fifth (4,537) followed by VMI’s women team (4,411), The Citadel women’s team (4,381) and Wofford (4,334).
The Citadel’s James Hart secured this year’s air rifle title after shooting a 587 in the quarterfinals to advance to the air rifle final, where he shot a 245.3 to finish ahead of North Georgia’s Jayne Fraley. The Oak Harbor, Washington, native, who also earned freshman of the year honors from the league’s six head coaches, averaged an aggregate score of 1,148.8 this year, posting a personal-best smallbore score of 582 and personal-best air rifle score of 590 this season, with his smallbore score of 582 taking the spot as the program record.
The coaches also named Georgia Southern’s Sandra Worman the 2021-22 SoCon Rifle Coach of the Year, marking the third time in four years that she has received the award.
North Georgia led the field with three shooters in the air rifle finals, while Georgia Southern and The Citadel followed behind with two each. The Citadel’s Hart clinched the top spot for gold, while North Georgia’s Jaden-Ann Fraser took home silver and Georgia Southern’s Kinsley Hannon took home bronze.
Judson was named the rifle athlete of the year after shooting the day’s second-highest score of 589 to qualify for the final, where she shot 200.5 to place fourth. Judson, who earned both smallbore and air rifle athlete of the month honors in October and January and air rifle in November, earned a 589.692 average through her 13 matches this season. Judson led the Eagles as one of two athletes to qualify for finals and holds the best air rifle average in the conference (589.692).
Fraley and Kiser joined Fraser in the air rifle final, securing fourth-place and fifth-place finishes, respectively, while The Citadel’s Charlotte Welsh joined teammate Hart in the finals, earning a seventh-place individual finish. UAB finished fourth in air rifle with 2,314 points. The Blazers’ Amy Kohan finished eighth in the final series.
The top 12 air rifle student-athletes of the regular season earned All-SoCon honors for their performances throughout the 2021-22 season, with the second team featuring seven student-athletes due to a tie in voting. North Georgia placed three student-athletes on the All-SoCon squad, with Fraser and Kiser earning first-team honors, while teammate Fraley was named to the second team. The Eagles are represented on the All-SoCon first team by Judson and sophomore teammate Amy Visconti, while teammate Erin Ballard, the smallbore athlete of the year, and Kinsley Hannon round out the all-conference selections for the Eagles, with both athletes securing a spot on the second team.
UAB’s Kohan also earned air rifle first-team honors, while The Citadel’s Hart, Welsh and Perkins and VMI’s Christopher Hicks represent the Bulldogs and Keydets on the second team.
2022 Southern Conference Rifle Championship
Aggregate team scores SB AR Agg.
1. Georgia Southern 2266 2337 4603
2. North Georgia 2254 2340 4594
3. The Citadel 2255 2317 4572
4. UAB 2253 2314 4567
5. VMI 2242 2295 4537
6. VMI-W 2140 2271 4411
7. The Citadel-W 2140 2241 4381
8. Wofford 2141 2193 4334
Air Rifle Individual Final
1. James Hart, The Citadel
2. Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
3. Kinsley Hannon, Georgia Southern
4. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
5. Jayne Fraley, North Georgia
6. Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
7. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
8. Amy Kohan, UAB
Air Rifle Athlete of the Year
Ashley Judson, Jr., Georgia Southern
Individual Air Rifle Champion
James Hart, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year
James Hart, The Citadel
Coach of the Year
Sandra Worman, Georgia Southern
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Ashley Judson, Jr., Philosophy major, 3.91 GPA
All-Southern Conference Air Rifle
First team
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
Amy Kohan, UAB
Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
Second team
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
Erin Ballard, Georgia Southern
Christopher Hicks, VMI
Emily Perkins, The Citadel
James Hart, The Citadel
Kinsley Hannon, Georgia Southern
Jayne Fraley, North Georgia
Smallbore individual final
1. Erin Ballard, Georgia Southern
2. Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
3. Jayne Fraley, North Georgia
4. James Hart, The Citadel
5. Christopher Hicks, VMI
6. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
7. Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
8. Amy Kohan, UAB
Smallbore Athlete of the Year
Erin Ballard, So., Georgia Southern
All-Southern Conference Smallbore
First team
Erin Ballard, Georgia Southern
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
James Hart IV, The Citadel
Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Second team
Amy Kohan, UAB
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Sophia Flores, UAB
Dawson Kissik, North Georgia
Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
North Georgia, who clinched the air rifle title last season, took home the 2022 team air rifle crown with a score of 2,340, finishing three points ahead of Georgia Southern’s 2,337. The Nighthawks’ 2,340 performance marks the highest air rifle score posted at the conference championship since the league resurrected rifle as a sponsored sport in 2016-17, with North Georgia defeating its program-record and conference-record score of 2,330 posted last season.
The Eagles finished first overall with 4,603 after ending day one as the smallbore champions. North Georgia was second overall at 4,594, while The Citadel finished third (4,572) and UAB placed fourth (4,567). VMI took home fifth (4,537) followed by VMI’s women team (4,411), The Citadel women’s team (4,381) and Wofford (4,334).
The Citadel’s James Hart secured this year’s air rifle title after shooting a 587 in the quarterfinals to advance to the air rifle final, where he shot a 245.3 to finish ahead of North Georgia’s Jayne Fraley. The Oak Harbor, Washington, native, who also earned freshman of the year honors from the league’s six head coaches, averaged an aggregate score of 1,148.8 this year, posting a personal-best smallbore score of 582 and personal-best air rifle score of 590 this season, with his smallbore score of 582 taking the spot as the program record.
The coaches also named Georgia Southern’s Sandra Worman the 2021-22 SoCon Rifle Coach of the Year, marking the third time in four years that she has received the award.
North Georgia led the field with three shooters in the air rifle finals, while Georgia Southern and The Citadel followed behind with two each. The Citadel’s Hart clinched the top spot for gold, while North Georgia’s Jaden-Ann Fraser took home silver and Georgia Southern’s Kinsley Hannon took home bronze.
Judson was named the rifle athlete of the year after shooting the day’s second-highest score of 589 to qualify for the final, where she shot 200.5 to place fourth. Judson, who earned both smallbore and air rifle athlete of the month honors in October and January and air rifle in November, earned a 589.692 average through her 13 matches this season. Judson led the Eagles as one of two athletes to qualify for finals and holds the best air rifle average in the conference (589.692).
Fraley and Kiser joined Fraser in the air rifle final, securing fourth-place and fifth-place finishes, respectively, while The Citadel’s Charlotte Welsh joined teammate Hart in the finals, earning a seventh-place individual finish. UAB finished fourth in air rifle with 2,314 points. The Blazers’ Amy Kohan finished eighth in the final series.
The top 12 air rifle student-athletes of the regular season earned All-SoCon honors for their performances throughout the 2021-22 season, with the second team featuring seven student-athletes due to a tie in voting. North Georgia placed three student-athletes on the All-SoCon squad, with Fraser and Kiser earning first-team honors, while teammate Fraley was named to the second team. The Eagles are represented on the All-SoCon first team by Judson and sophomore teammate Amy Visconti, while teammate Erin Ballard, the smallbore athlete of the year, and Kinsley Hannon round out the all-conference selections for the Eagles, with both athletes securing a spot on the second team.
UAB’s Kohan also earned air rifle first-team honors, while The Citadel’s Hart, Welsh and Perkins and VMI’s Christopher Hicks represent the Bulldogs and Keydets on the second team.
2022 Southern Conference Rifle Championship
Aggregate team scores SB AR Agg.
1. Georgia Southern 2266 2337 4603
2. North Georgia 2254 2340 4594
3. The Citadel 2255 2317 4572
4. UAB 2253 2314 4567
5. VMI 2242 2295 4537
6. VMI-W 2140 2271 4411
7. The Citadel-W 2140 2241 4381
8. Wofford 2141 2193 4334
Air Rifle Individual Final
1. James Hart, The Citadel
2. Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
3. Kinsley Hannon, Georgia Southern
4. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
5. Jayne Fraley, North Georgia
6. Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
7. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
8. Amy Kohan, UAB
Air Rifle Athlete of the Year
Ashley Judson, Jr., Georgia Southern
Individual Air Rifle Champion
James Hart, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year
James Hart, The Citadel
Coach of the Year
Sandra Worman, Georgia Southern
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Ashley Judson, Jr., Philosophy major, 3.91 GPA
All-Southern Conference Air Rifle
First team
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
Amy Kohan, UAB
Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
Second team
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
Erin Ballard, Georgia Southern
Christopher Hicks, VMI
Emily Perkins, The Citadel
James Hart, The Citadel
Kinsley Hannon, Georgia Southern
Jayne Fraley, North Georgia
Smallbore individual final
1. Erin Ballard, Georgia Southern
2. Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
3. Jayne Fraley, North Georgia
4. James Hart, The Citadel
5. Christopher Hicks, VMI
6. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
7. Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
8. Amy Kohan, UAB
Smallbore Athlete of the Year
Erin Ballard, So., Georgia Southern
All-Southern Conference Smallbore
First team
Erin Ballard, Georgia Southern
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
James Hart IV, The Citadel
Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Second team
Amy Kohan, UAB
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Sophia Flores, UAB
Dawson Kissik, North Georgia
Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
-www.SoConSports.com-