I had never watched a rifle competition before catching the last session of air rifle online. I didn't see the broadcast, just the real-time scoring where you could see the most recent shot and the cumulative score of all shooters. It was fascinating.
The Frogs were up 2 points total across both events, but because their low score from the first relay in air rifle was 593 vs. 590 for WVU, it was essentially a dead heat--if both WVU shooters and both TCU shooters shot 595, WVU would pass the Frogs by gaining on dropped score.
On top of that, WVU had the 2023 individual champ in both events, Mary Tucker. She had defended her smallbore title the day before and was going for a repeat sweep. TCU had to hold its tiny lead against the best competitor in the field, shooting adjacent to them.
Shooters get 75 minutes to fire 60 shots, so they work at their own pace, and the TCU shooters were much quicker than the WVU shooters. The Frogs both got off to a strong start, so they kept a brisk rhythm.
The first to blink was WVU's second shooter, Sanchez, who dropped points on 5 of his first 10 shots and 9 of his first 25. That meant his score was almost certain to be dropped and WVU would have to count its 590. That essentially turned it into 2-on-1, with WVU's Tucker having to beat both Frogs by 2, or by more if both Frogs finished above 593.
So, when Stephanie Allan, the fastest shooter, went into her final 10 shots having only dropped 2 points, the Frogs were on the verge of clinching. You could tell she knew it. Nerves kicked in, and she missed 3 shots, including the last, giving her a 595 and leaving the door open just a crack. She would miss the individual finals by 1 point, but after finishing, she stayed at her station for 10 minutes to keep from distracting her teammate.
When Tucker dropped points on 3 of her first 23 shots, it meant the Frogs would clinch with her next miss. It never came--she closed with 37 bulls-eyes in a row to keep the Mountaineers in it.
So, Hogan had to beat 593 to clinch. She was clutch, closing out a 596 to put the Frogs atop the podium.
Full replay is available below -- the stretch from 1:50:00 to 2:02:00 covers the previous three graphs.
