The Alaska Nanooks continued their dominance of college shooting last weekend at the 2007 NCAA Rifle Championships.

The two-day tournament, held here at UAF in the Patty Center, marked the first time an NCAA championship has been held in the state of Alaska.

Not new this year, however, was Alaska's solid victory, outscoring the second place Army Black Knights 4,662 to 4,644.

The Nanooks scraped by with a narrow one-point victory in Friday's smallbore competition 2,308 to 2,307 over Army, before dominating the air rifle match to come away with the win.

"There was no single standout on the team this match," UAF coach Dan Jordan said in a press release. "They all shot strong."

Alaska was led by Christian Lejon, who racked up 582 points, and Matthias Dierolf, with 578.

Also shooting for the Nanooks were Matt Rawlings, who scored 577, and Patrik Sartz, with 571.

Army's Christopher Abalo led all smallbore shooters with 584 points, including a perfect 200 from the prone position.

With UAF on top and Army in second, the Kentucky Wildcats came in third, with 2299 points, followed closely by the Texas Christian Horned Frogs, with 2293 and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, with 2291.

In the individual final round, following the team scores, each of the top eight shooters fired another ten shots for the individual championship.

Navy's Josh Albright took first, adding 96.5, for a total score of 679.5. Nebraska's Kirsten Weiss finished second, shooting 98.4 in the final frame for a total of 678.4.

Jacksonville's Joseph Hall came in third, shooting 95.9 and 677.9, respectively.

During Saturday's air rifle match, the Nanooks made NCAA history by hosting the event in the 1200 seat Patty Center Gym, instead of the small confines of the UAF's E.F. Horton Rifle Range. Over 900 tickets were sold to the event, and better than 1,000 people were present for the final rounds.

Alaska racked up the points from the beginning, outscoring chief rival Army in all but one of the four relay rounds.

Dierolf and Lejon again led the Nanooks, scoring 591 and 590, respectively, while Sartz shot 587 and Rawlings 586.

The overall leader in air rifle was Jacksonville's Michael Dickinson, who shot 592.

UAF's first place air rifle score was 2354, good for the overall championship. Jacksonville finished second, with 2348, while Kentucky and Army tied for third, with 2337 apiece.

Army's smallbore performance allowed them to secure second, while Jacksonville finished third, with 4639 overall, and Kentucky dropped to fourth, with 4636.

In the air rifle individual final, Dickinson, already in the lead, added 100.2 to his score for a total of 692.2, good for first place.

UAF's Dierolf, in second place before the final, shot 100.4, bringing him to 691.4, securing second place.

Army's Abalo put on a very impressive performance, shooting 103.2, the highest score in the final round, but his total of 691.2 was good for third place.

The Nanook victory capped a perfect 12-0 season with UAF's second consecutive championship and eighth in nine years.

Rifle is UAF's most successful athletics program, and the Nanook shooters are among the most dominant in any NCAA sport.

Becky Hershberger competes in the air rifle relays in the NCAA Championship on March 10.

The Alaska Nanook rifle team competes for the small Bore finals in the Patty Center on March 9.