Massachusetts shooter signs letter with Nanooks

Post date: Jun 14, 2012 2:53:23 PM

by Danny Martin/dmartin@newsminer.com

Jun 13, 2012

FAIRBANKS—Alexis Nardone’s high school in Massachusetts doesn’t have a rifle team, but that didn’t stop her from developing into one of the state’s top junior shooters. It also didn’t stop Alaska Nanooks head coach Dan Jordan from recruiting her.

The recent graduate of Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocation School in Wakefield, Mass., signed a National Letter of Intent with the Nanooks, according to a press release from the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Wednesday.

“Alexis is going to be a great addition to the team,” Jordan said in the release. “She is an amazing student and her drive and determination will take her far in collegiate shooting.”

Nardone is the Nanooks’ third recruit this offseason. The others were Tim Sherry from Highlands Ranch, Colo., and Soren Butler from Casselton, N.D.

Nardone has shot competitively with the Mass Rifle Juniors since 2006. Last year, Nardone captured the state’s Junior Olympic small bore title, was the top scorer on the three-position smallbore full course national record-setting team and she earned bronze at the U.S. Army Junior Air Rifle Postal.

Nardone has career bests of 584 in air rifle and 562 in smallbore.

“While her scores might not be as high as some of her future teammates, she is improving quickly and will be competitive soon,” Jordan said. “She reminds me a lot of Melissa Mulloy-Mecozzi, and I hope she follows in her shoes.”

Mulloy-Mecozzi shot for the Nanooks from 1997-2001 and was inducted into the Alaska Nanooks Hall of Fame in 2010.

Nardone, who plans to major in business administration and minor in culinary arts at UAF, was a member of Northeast Metropolitan’s swimming and diving state championship teams in 2010 and 2011. She also won this year’s Skills USA In-House Baking Competition after placing second the previous two years.

Nardone was the president of her school’s chapter of the National Technical Honor Society for the last three years and a Skills USA member for her entire prep career.