GENERAL
GSU captures second straight SoCon Rifle Championship
Eagles' Addy Burrow sweeps Athlete of the Year honors
NCAA scorecard
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Georgia Southern won its second straight Southern Conference Rifle Championship on Sunday at The Citadel’s Inouye Marksmanship Center in Charleston, South Carolina. GSU senior Addy Burrow was named the SoCon Smallbore and Air Rifle Athlete of the Year as all-conference awards were announced at the conclusion of the two-day event.
The Eagles, who shot a championship-record 2,315 in smallbore on Saturday, followed that with a 2,342 in a hotly contested air rifle portion on Sunday to claim the SoCon title with a championship-record 4,657 aggregate score.
The Citadel won its second SoCon team title in air rifle and first since 2018 with a score of 2,347, edging three-time defending air rifle champion North Georgia by just a point. GSU was third in the discipline Sunday.
Led by SoCon Coach of the Year Richie Parra, the host Bulldogs finished second to Georgia Southern in aggregate with a score of 4,616, claiming runner-up honors by virtue of a tiebreaker over UNG, which also totaled 4,616. UAB was fourth at 4,572, followed by VMI (4,543), VMI’s women’s team (4,484), Wofford (4,419) and The Citadel’s women’s team (4,408).
North Georgia’s Elysa Walter, who would go on to be named the SoCon Freshman of the Year at the conclusion of the championship, fired a 598 in air rifle on Sunday, matching the championship record set by Georgia Southern’s Rosemary Kramer in 2019, to lead the contingent of eight finals qualifiers. In the finals, Walter shot 246.4 to edge Burrow, who shot 245.1, for the individual title. Walter became the second Nighthawk to win the air rifle individual title and first since Kimberlee Nettles in 2021.
The Eagles’ Ashley Judson, who won the Pinnacle Award for the second year in a row as the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team, finished third in the air rifle finals with a score of 222.9.
Burrow, The Citadel’s James Hart IV and North Georgia’s Maya Cameron earned first-team All-SoCon honors in both smallbore and air rifle.
Burrow, who became the third shooter to sweep smallbore and air rifle athlete of the year honors, led the SoCon in both disciplines this season. She averaged 585.143 in smallbore and 594.214 in air rifle for a league-best 1,179.357 aggregate average.
GSU’s Burrow and UNG’s Walter will compete in air rifle at the NCAA Rifle Championships in Akron, Ohio, Saturday, March 11.
2023 SoCon Rifle Championship team scores
Overall champion
Georgia Southern
Smallbore champion
Georgia Southern
Air rifle champion
The Citadel
Smallbore individual final (Saturday)
1. Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern (450.4)
2. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern (450.3)
3. Addy Burrow, Georgia Southern (440.2)
4. James Hart IV, The Citadel (427.9)
5. Annaliese Mayo, Georgia Southern (416.1)
6. Elysa Walter, North Georgia (403.0)
7. Isabella Timmons, Wofford (392.1)
8. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel (387.5)
Air rifle individual final (Sunday)
1. Elysa Walter, North Georgia (246.4)
2. Addy Burrow, Georgia Southern (245.1)
3. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern (222.9)
4. Maya Cameron, North Georgia (202.5)
5. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel (180.2)
6. Claire Vonderau, UAB (161.3)
7. James Hart IV, The Citadel (140.8)
8. Aiden Malcolm, The Citadel (119.8)
Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Ashley Judson, Sr., Georgia Southern
SoCon Smallbore Athlete of the Year
Addy Burrow, Sr., Georgia Southern
All-Southern Conference Smallbore
First team
Addy Burrow, Georgia Southern
Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
James Hart IV, The Citadel
Maya Cameron, North Georgia
Second team
Elysa Walter, North Georgia
Amy Kohan, UAB
Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
Carson Wood, The Citadel
Christopher Hicks, VMI
SoCon Air Rifle Athlete of the Year
Addy Burrow, Sr., Georgia Southern
All-Southern Conference Air Rifle
First team
Addy Burrow, Georgia Southern
Elysa Walter, North Georgia
James Hart IV, The Citadel
Maya Cameron, North Georgia
Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
Second team
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
Gracie Turk, UAB
Anna Mayo, Georgia Southern
SoCon Coach of the Year
Richie Parra, The Citadel
SoCon Freshman of the Year
Elysa Walter, North Georgia
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Georgia Southern won its second straight Southern Conference Rifle Championship on Sunday at The Citadel’s Inouye Marksmanship Center in Charleston, South Carolina. GSU senior Addy Burrow was named the SoCon Smallbore and Air Rifle Athlete of the Year as all-conference awards were announced at the conclusion of the two-day event.
The Eagles, who shot a championship-record 2,315 in smallbore on Saturday, followed that with a 2,342 in a hotly contested air rifle portion on Sunday to claim the SoCon title with a championship-record 4,657 aggregate score.
The Citadel won its second SoCon team title in air rifle and first since 2018 with a score of 2,347, edging three-time defending air rifle champion North Georgia by just a point. GSU was third in the discipline Sunday.
Led by SoCon Coach of the Year Richie Parra, the host Bulldogs finished second to Georgia Southern in aggregate with a score of 4,616, claiming runner-up honors by virtue of a tiebreaker over UNG, which also totaled 4,616. UAB was fourth at 4,572, followed by VMI (4,543), VMI’s women’s team (4,484), Wofford (4,419) and The Citadel’s women’s team (4,408).
North Georgia’s Elysa Walter, who would go on to be named the SoCon Freshman of the Year at the conclusion of the championship, fired a 598 in air rifle on Sunday, matching the championship record set by Georgia Southern’s Rosemary Kramer in 2019, to lead the contingent of eight finals qualifiers. In the finals, Walter shot 246.4 to edge Burrow, who shot 245.1, for the individual title. Walter became the second Nighthawk to win the air rifle individual title and first since Kimberlee Nettles in 2021.
The Eagles’ Ashley Judson, who won the Pinnacle Award for the second year in a row as the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team, finished third in the air rifle finals with a score of 222.9.
Burrow, The Citadel’s James Hart IV and North Georgia’s Maya Cameron earned first-team All-SoCon honors in both smallbore and air rifle.
Burrow, who became the third shooter to sweep smallbore and air rifle athlete of the year honors, led the SoCon in both disciplines this season. She averaged 585.143 in smallbore and 594.214 in air rifle for a league-best 1,179.357 aggregate average.
GSU’s Burrow and UNG’s Walter will compete in air rifle at the NCAA Rifle Championships in Akron, Ohio, Saturday, March 11.
2023 SoCon Rifle Championship team scores
| Team | SB | AR | Agg |
| 1. Georgia Southern | 2315 | 2342 | 4657 |
| 2. The Citadel | 2269 | 2347 | 4616 |
| 3. North Georgia | 2270 | 2346 | 4616 |
| 4. UAB | 2263 | 2309 | 4572 |
| 5. VMI | 2234 | 2309 | 4543 |
| 6. VMI (W) | 2199 | 2285 | 4484 |
| 7. Wofford | 2176 | 2243 | 4419 |
| 8. The Citadel (W) | 2167 | 2241 | 4408 |
Overall champion
Georgia Southern
Smallbore champion
Georgia Southern
Air rifle champion
The Citadel
Smallbore individual final (Saturday)
1. Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern (450.4)
2. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern (450.3)
3. Addy Burrow, Georgia Southern (440.2)
4. James Hart IV, The Citadel (427.9)
5. Annaliese Mayo, Georgia Southern (416.1)
6. Elysa Walter, North Georgia (403.0)
7. Isabella Timmons, Wofford (392.1)
8. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel (387.5)
Air rifle individual final (Sunday)
1. Elysa Walter, North Georgia (246.4)
2. Addy Burrow, Georgia Southern (245.1)
3. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern (222.9)
4. Maya Cameron, North Georgia (202.5)
5. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel (180.2)
6. Claire Vonderau, UAB (161.3)
7. James Hart IV, The Citadel (140.8)
8. Aiden Malcolm, The Citadel (119.8)
Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Ashley Judson, Sr., Georgia Southern
SoCon Smallbore Athlete of the Year
Addy Burrow, Sr., Georgia Southern
All-Southern Conference Smallbore
First team
Addy Burrow, Georgia Southern
Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
James Hart IV, The Citadel
Maya Cameron, North Georgia
Second team
Elysa Walter, North Georgia
Amy Kohan, UAB
Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
Carson Wood, The Citadel
Christopher Hicks, VMI
SoCon Air Rifle Athlete of the Year
Addy Burrow, Sr., Georgia Southern
All-Southern Conference Air Rifle
First team
Addy Burrow, Georgia Southern
Elysa Walter, North Georgia
James Hart IV, The Citadel
Maya Cameron, North Georgia
Alyssa Kiser, North Georgia
Second team
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Amy Visconti, Georgia Southern
Gracie Turk, UAB
Anna Mayo, Georgia Southern
SoCon Coach of the Year
Richie Parra, The Citadel
SoCon Freshman of the Year
Elysa Walter, North Georgia
-www.SoConSports.com-