Nanooks shooters aim for top spots in NCAA meet

Post date: Mar 14, 2015 4:20:29 PM

His parents, Deborah and David Lyman, who originally were from Alaska, decided to give their son his own name instead of a family name, naming him Remington after the popular U.S. firearms and ammunition manufacturer that’s been in business since 1812.

“We decided very early on that we were going to give him his own name rather than a family name,” Deborah Lyman said. “So, we picked out Remington, figuring that was good for a girl or a boy.”

His middle name, Perry, is named after Camp Perry, the location of the NRA National Outdoor Rifle & Pistol Championships. And his last name, Lyman, comes from a long line of family members that came to America on the Mayflower and established the company Lyman Products.

Lyman, who shot in his first NCAA Championships on Friday, barely snuck in to the competition. He was the sixth and final individual selected to the championships in the smallbore, and shot a season-high 581 in the NCAA Qualifying meet on Feb. 21.

“I knew that I needed to perform well in either gun to make it to the championships,” Lyman said. “It was a lot of pressure, but I pulled it out.”

“Just sneaked in, which kind of seems like that’s my career, just sneaking in, but it works,” he added.

Lyman fired a 577 in the smallbore on Friday, placing him in 18th place out of 46 total participants.

As a shooter, this is his second trip to Fairbanks, where his dad, David, attended school and shot on the rifle team from 1973-76. His mother, Deborah, from Anchorage, lived in Alaska for 15 years before both moving to the east coast so David could pursue the family business. His family owns the Blue Trail Range Corporation in Wallingford, Connecticut, which is a commercial shooting range and store.

Both Remington and Deborah, who made the trip to Fairbanks from Meriden, Connecticut, were excited upon hearing the championships would be in Alaska, but for different reasons.

“I was pretty excited because it’s a lot longer of an NCAA trip so I knew we’d get a lot of per diem. So I was pretty pumped about that,” Remington said with a smile.

“I was ecstatic,” Deborah said, “because obviously it was a chance to get back to where I consider home. Also, it was a great opportunity for him to come up here to see where I grew up and his father as well.”

Remington isn’t the only marksman in his family. Both his parents have competed in and won national competitions, and all three are NRA Double Distinguished Smallbore Rifleman Award winners. Only smallbore shooters that compete in qualifying events and place in the top 10 percent are available for the Distinguished Smallbore Rifleman Award.

To earn the Double Distinguished Award, a shooter must compete in three NRA competitions and place in the top 10 percent and win the Distinguished Smallbore Rifleman Award.

Only 124 people have earned the distinction and just two have taken the honor in the past two years, one of them Remington.

Remington has just about all the experience you can get when it comes to shooting, having picked up his first gun at age 2, and firing in his first competition at 3.

However, he grew up shooting more NRA matches and said there were differences between that and collegiate shooting.

“I feel like I was a little behind the curve in that sense, but the NRA background gave me a great sense of discipline and teamwork that I carried over and applied well to USA shooting,” Remington said.

Remington, who has one more year of shooting at Ohio State, says his main goal is for his team to get to the tournament.

“I want to do the best I can, develop the underclassmen and help them as well as I can and help my coach with that,” he said.

The epitome of a team player, Remington always is looking to help his teammates improve. He plans to use his experience at this year’s championships to help his team for next season.

“I was excited because I’m a junior, so I figure that if our team qualifies next year, which we should, I’ll have a little experience so that I’ll tell the underclassmen how it’s like and give them the rundown, which will hopefully prepare our team for a shot at the podium next year,” he said.

NCAA RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIPS

» Air rifle individual and team competition, 7:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at UAF Patty Center

» NRA Banquet at 7 p.m. at the Carlson Center

» Tickets available at the Patty Center