Ohio State pistol coach Donna Knisley has a simple approach to putting together a national championship-winning team: Recruit deadeye competitors, then impart the fine points of taking aim.

Ohio State pistol coach Donna Knisley has a simple approach to putting together a national championship-winning team: Recruit deadeye competitors, then impart the fine points of taking aim.

�The secret is actually learning to focus on the front sight, not the target,� Knisley said.

That tidbit helped the Buckeyes earn their third straight national championship last week, and their eighth overall. Knisley was an assistant coach to James Sweeney for the first season, and the head coach this season.

The Buckeyes had to replace half of the roster after last season due to graduation. But the coed squad beat its competitors on the range at Fort Benning, Georgia, with a full-team approach, Knisley said, led by the accuracy of freshman Anthony McCollum and sophomore Irina Andrianova.

Ohio State scored 6,294 points in the championship meet, followed by Army with 6,188 and The Citadel with 6,187. Andrianova won the women's individual aggregate with 932 points, beating runner-up Helen Oh of the Coast Guard Academy by nine points. McCollum won standard pistol, edging Jackie Wu of Massachusetts Institute of Technology 549-547.

�In many respects I�m hoping that it guarantees we can continue to be a team that is viable here on campus,� Knisley said. �We�re not in the NCAA, we�re in the NRA (National Rifle Association). So we�re always kind of on sticks as far as �Will we make it this year? Will we not?�

�But I�ve been able to recruit quite a few good shooters the last few years and I think that�s helped us.�

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