GENERAL
North Georgia wins 2021 Southern Conference rifle championship
North Georgia’s Kimberlee Nettles wins second straight individual title, post-season honors announced
LEXINGTON, Va. – North Georgia claimed its third Southern Conference team rifle title with an aggregate score of 4,600 at the 2021 SoCon Championship hosted by VMI on Sunday. Kimberlee Nettles, who won last year’s smallbore title, took home gold in air rifle and received the Pinnacle Award. Georgia Southern’s Ashley Judson and North Georgia’s Jaden-Ann Fraser were named co-air rifle athletes of the year, which marks Judson’s second straight year earning the honor and Fraser’s first.
The Nighthawks also took home the 2021 team air rifle title with a score of 2,330, which is the highest air rifle score posted at the conference championship since the league resurrected rifle as a sponsored sport in 2016-17. The previous high score was tied at 2,326 points held by The Citadel, Georgia Southern and North Georgia.
Georgia Southern placed second overall with 4,596 points, just four points behind North Georgia, after ending day one as the smallbore champions. UAB finished third (4,573) and The Citadel placed fourth (4,568). Despite the Bulldogs’ fourth-place finish, they weren‘t far behind North Georgia in air rifle and finished with the second highest score of 2,322. VMI took home fifth (4,517) followed by VMI’s women team (4,421) and Wofford (4,370). The Citadel women entered the third relay atop the team standings, but fell short with 4,325 points for an eighth-place finish.
The Citadel’s Charlotte Welsh earned freshman of the year honors, which was voted on by the league’s six head coaches. The Simpsonville, South Carolina, native was the October air rifle shooter of the month and averaged an aggregate score of 1,144 this year. Welsh entered college with no smallbore experience prior to joining the Bulldogs, and has improved significantly since her match debut score of 547 to shooting between 550 and 560. She broke 590 in air rifle for the first time against VMI and UAB on Jan. 30, which is tied with two student-athletes as the fourth-best air rifle score in the conference this season.
The coaches also named Wofford’s Seth Flanagan the 2020-21 SoCon Rifle Coach of the Year, which is the first time a coach from the school won the award.
North Georgia and The Citadel led the field with three shooters each in the air rifle finals. The Nighthawks’ Nettles clinched the top spot for gold, while Fraser took home silver. UNG sophomore Kevin Vaughn rounded out the field of eight athletes in finals. Nettles was also the Pinnacle Award winner, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.
The senior from Waycross, Georgia, holds a 3.79 GPA and is double-majoring in early childhood studies and special education. She was selected by the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Rifle Committee to compete in the 2021 National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Rifle Championships in air rifle.
Fraser was named co-air rifle athlete of the year after shooting the day’s top score of 590 to qualify for the final. Fraser, a freshman, shot the conference’s third-best air rifle score (591) on Feb. 20 at the NCAA qualifiers, behind Nettles (593) and Judson (592) who hold the top two scores.
Judson, Georgia Southern’s team captain, was the co-air rifle athlete of the year after placing fifth in finals. The sophomore earned a 584.636 average through her 11 matches this season. Judson led the Eagles as the only athlete to qualify for finals and holds the third-best air rifle average in the conference (584.636). Judson’s season will continue at the 2021 NCAA Rifle Championship, where she will serve as an alternate for air rifle.
The Bulldogs paced the field during finals with three shooters in Welsh, Max Brabston and Emily Perkins. Brabston led The Citadel with a fourth-place individual finish.
UAB finished third in air rifle with 2,319 points. The Blazers’ Amy Kohan, the 2020 freshman of the year, took home bronze in the final series.
The top 10 air rifle athletes of the regular season earned All-SoCon honors for their performances throughout the 2020-21 season. North Georgia placed a league-best four athletes on the All-SoCon squad. Fraser and Nettles earned first-team honors, while teammate Morgan Frank, the 2021 smallbore champion, and Vaughn earned second-team honors. The Georgia Southern Eagles are represented on the first team All-SoCon by Judson, co-air rifle athlete of the year. Teammate Brianne Staton rounded out the all-conference second team in her first year as a college student.
UAB’s Kohan, who earned smallbore all-conference honors after taking home second in the discipline, also earned air rifle first-team honors. Junior Zoe Lum is the only Blazer who was selected to the second team. The Citadel’s Welsh and Bates earned first- and second-team All-SoCon honors, respectively.
2021 Southern Conference Rifle Championship
Aggregate team scores SB AR Agg.
1. North Georgia 2270 2330 4600
2. Georgia Southern 2278 2318 4596
3. UAB 2254 2319 4573
4. The Citadel 2246 2322 4568
5. VMI 2240 2277 4517
6. VMI-W 2159 2262 4421
7. Wofford 2151 2219 4370
8. The Citadel-W 2095 2230 4325
Air Rifle Individual Final
1. Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
2. Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
3. Amy Kohan, UAB
4. Max Brabston, The Citadel
5. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
6. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
7. Emily Perkins, The Citadel
8. Kevin Vaughn, North Georgia
Co-Air Rifle Athletes of the Year
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Individual Air Rifle Champion
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
Freshman of the Year
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
Coach of the Year
Seth Flanagan, Wofford
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Kimberlee Nettles, Sr., Early Childhood/Special Education major, 3.786 GPA
All-Southern Conference Air Rifle
First team
Amy Kohan, UAB
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
Second team
Zoe Lum, UAB
Cameron Bates, The Citadel
Brianne Staton, Georgia Southern
Morgan Frank, North Georgia
Kevin Vaughn, North Georgia
Smallbore individual final
Smallbore Athlete of the Year
Kimberlee Nettles, Sr., North Georgia
All-Southern Conference Smallbore
First team
Amy Kohan, UAB
Zoe Lum, UAB
Cameron Bates, The Citadel
Morgan Frank, North Georgia
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
Second team
Jordan Blankenship, UAB
Sophia Flores, UAB
Maggie Vonderau, UAB
Max Brabston, The Citadel
Brianne Staton, Georgia Southern
The Nighthawks also took home the 2021 team air rifle title with a score of 2,330, which is the highest air rifle score posted at the conference championship since the league resurrected rifle as a sponsored sport in 2016-17. The previous high score was tied at 2,326 points held by The Citadel, Georgia Southern and North Georgia.
Georgia Southern placed second overall with 4,596 points, just four points behind North Georgia, after ending day one as the smallbore champions. UAB finished third (4,573) and The Citadel placed fourth (4,568). Despite the Bulldogs’ fourth-place finish, they weren‘t far behind North Georgia in air rifle and finished with the second highest score of 2,322. VMI took home fifth (4,517) followed by VMI’s women team (4,421) and Wofford (4,370). The Citadel women entered the third relay atop the team standings, but fell short with 4,325 points for an eighth-place finish.
The Citadel’s Charlotte Welsh earned freshman of the year honors, which was voted on by the league’s six head coaches. The Simpsonville, South Carolina, native was the October air rifle shooter of the month and averaged an aggregate score of 1,144 this year. Welsh entered college with no smallbore experience prior to joining the Bulldogs, and has improved significantly since her match debut score of 547 to shooting between 550 and 560. She broke 590 in air rifle for the first time against VMI and UAB on Jan. 30, which is tied with two student-athletes as the fourth-best air rifle score in the conference this season.
The coaches also named Wofford’s Seth Flanagan the 2020-21 SoCon Rifle Coach of the Year, which is the first time a coach from the school won the award.
North Georgia and The Citadel led the field with three shooters each in the air rifle finals. The Nighthawks’ Nettles clinched the top spot for gold, while Fraser took home silver. UNG sophomore Kevin Vaughn rounded out the field of eight athletes in finals. Nettles was also the Pinnacle Award winner, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.
The senior from Waycross, Georgia, holds a 3.79 GPA and is double-majoring in early childhood studies and special education. She was selected by the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Rifle Committee to compete in the 2021 National Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Rifle Championships in air rifle.
Fraser was named co-air rifle athlete of the year after shooting the day’s top score of 590 to qualify for the final. Fraser, a freshman, shot the conference’s third-best air rifle score (591) on Feb. 20 at the NCAA qualifiers, behind Nettles (593) and Judson (592) who hold the top two scores.
Judson, Georgia Southern’s team captain, was the co-air rifle athlete of the year after placing fifth in finals. The sophomore earned a 584.636 average through her 11 matches this season. Judson led the Eagles as the only athlete to qualify for finals and holds the third-best air rifle average in the conference (584.636). Judson’s season will continue at the 2021 NCAA Rifle Championship, where she will serve as an alternate for air rifle.
The Bulldogs paced the field during finals with three shooters in Welsh, Max Brabston and Emily Perkins. Brabston led The Citadel with a fourth-place individual finish.
UAB finished third in air rifle with 2,319 points. The Blazers’ Amy Kohan, the 2020 freshman of the year, took home bronze in the final series.
The top 10 air rifle athletes of the regular season earned All-SoCon honors for their performances throughout the 2020-21 season. North Georgia placed a league-best four athletes on the All-SoCon squad. Fraser and Nettles earned first-team honors, while teammate Morgan Frank, the 2021 smallbore champion, and Vaughn earned second-team honors. The Georgia Southern Eagles are represented on the first team All-SoCon by Judson, co-air rifle athlete of the year. Teammate Brianne Staton rounded out the all-conference second team in her first year as a college student.
UAB’s Kohan, who earned smallbore all-conference honors after taking home second in the discipline, also earned air rifle first-team honors. Junior Zoe Lum is the only Blazer who was selected to the second team. The Citadel’s Welsh and Bates earned first- and second-team All-SoCon honors, respectively.
2021 Southern Conference Rifle Championship
Aggregate team scores SB AR Agg.
1. North Georgia 2270 2330 4600
2. Georgia Southern 2278 2318 4596
3. UAB 2254 2319 4573
4. The Citadel 2246 2322 4568
5. VMI 2240 2277 4517
6. VMI-W 2159 2262 4421
7. Wofford 2151 2219 4370
8. The Citadel-W 2095 2230 4325
Air Rifle Individual Final
1. Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
2. Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
3. Amy Kohan, UAB
4. Max Brabston, The Citadel
5. Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
6. Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
7. Emily Perkins, The Citadel
8. Kevin Vaughn, North Georgia
Co-Air Rifle Athletes of the Year
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Individual Air Rifle Champion
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
Freshman of the Year
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
Coach of the Year
Seth Flanagan, Wofford
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Kimberlee Nettles, Sr., Early Childhood/Special Education major, 3.786 GPA
All-Southern Conference Air Rifle
First team
Amy Kohan, UAB
Charlotte Welsh, The Citadel
Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
Second team
Zoe Lum, UAB
Cameron Bates, The Citadel
Brianne Staton, Georgia Southern
Morgan Frank, North Georgia
Kevin Vaughn, North Georgia
Smallbore individual final
- Morgan Frank, North Georgia
- Ashley Judson, Georgia Southern
- Jessica Hankin, VMI
- Jaden-Ann Fraser, North Georgia
- Amy Kohan, UAB
- Brianne Staton, Georgia Southern
- Cameron Bates, The Citadel
- Bella Gamez, Georgia Southern
Smallbore Athlete of the Year
Kimberlee Nettles, Sr., North Georgia
All-Southern Conference Smallbore
First team
Amy Kohan, UAB
Zoe Lum, UAB
Cameron Bates, The Citadel
Morgan Frank, North Georgia
Kimberlee Nettles, North Georgia
Second team
Jordan Blankenship, UAB
Sophia Flores, UAB
Maggie Vonderau, UAB
Max Brabston, The Citadel
Brianne Staton, Georgia Southern
-www.SoConSports.com-