Following a season that featured multiple program records, Junior Olympic qualifiers, and appearing in the top 20 for the first time in program history, Bill Bither, VMI rifle coach, was named the 2024 Southern Conference Coach of the Year.
This marks the second time Bither has earned the accolade, earning the SoCon Coach of the Year recognition in 2020.
As a team, VMI finished fifth, with the women’s squad just behind them in sixth, while Georgia Southern grabbed its third-straight title. The championship was held at The Citadel’s Inouye Marksmanship Center in Charleston, South Carolina, March 2–4.
The mixed team had the fourth-best air rifle score with a 2319, with Ryan Harlow ’25 shooting the seventh-highest score in that discipline (577) a day after placing sixth in the smallbore. Overall, Christopher Hicks ’24 1159 was the ninth-best aggregate in the field with a score of 1159.
A day after leading the VMI women’s squad in the smallbore, Victoria Phillips ’25 led all VMI women’s shooters in the air rifle, recording a 566. Katelynn Grochalski ’24 showed well in the air rifle, with her 587 tying for eighth overall.
For the complete results, click here. To view the full SoCon release, click here.
Editor’s Note: This article was first published at vmikeydets.com.
