Gavin Perkowski’s aim is true on college rifle team

Gavin Perkowski’s aim is true on college rifle team
Lori Feeney

Gavin Perkowski of Bolivar poses at home with one of the rifles he uses in competition as part of the University of Akron rifle team.

                        

Gavin Perkowski has earned many accolades as a member of the University of Akron rifle team. The son of Vince and Sarah Perkowski of Bolivar has been winning and breaking records, some of which he set, for the past five years in both rifle and air rifle.

“My dad taught me how to shoot when I was 7 using a Daisy five-shot BB gun,” said Perkowski, who started competing just three years later at the Great Trails Musketeer Club.

These days Perkowski shoots a Walther KK500 small-bore LR rifle from prone, kneeling and offhand or standing. He also competes with a Pardini GPR1 air rifle, shooting from the standing position.

These are not the average hunting rifles, and hitting the target repeatedly is no easy feat.

“These rifles are heavy,” said Newt Engle, head rifle coach for the University of Akron Zips rifle team. “These Olympic-style shooters spend two hours shooting a small-bore rifle, take a 30-minute break, and then shoot for two more hours with their air rifle and be on their A-game for every single shot.”

All this must be accomplished while wearing heavy suits designed to provide balance and support and special boots for stability.

“Can you imagine holding one of those rifles for over an hour, aiming and shooting at something the size of a dot from a ballpoint pen?” Sarah Perkowski said.

“It’s not quite super human, but it’s not far from it,” Engle said.

A family tradition

Vince Perkowski said he shot rifles at local clubs but never got to compete.

“I grew up hearing stories from my dad about being on the Air Force ROTC shooting team at Kent State,” he said. “I always thought it sounded like fun, so when I heard there were junior rifle teams around, I thought of Gavin and his younger brother Teagan.”

After taking the NRA basic rifle course and honing their skills through practice, the boys started receiving invitations from various competitions.

“Gavin started qualifying for the Junior Olympics in the eighth grade,” Sarah Perkowski said.

In 2022 he placed second, receiving a silver medal.

According to Engle, Gavin Perkowski has taken the university’s rifle program to a level not previously seen.

“He’s a quiet guy but a man of action,” Engle said. “He just gets up there and shoots like a true Olympian. But he also helps his teammates, not just in shooting, but in their classes. His heart is in the right place, always.”

The Zips rifle team is currently ranked 13th in the nation. Engle said a razor-thin margin separates the standings of the top collegiate rifle teams.

“The difference between 13th place and seventh place is only nine points,” he said. “Each time Gavin pulls the trigger and hits the center, it gives us 10 points. So the difference is less than one shot.”

About those accolades

While on the team, a few of Gavin Perkowski’s honors include the following:

—2023-24 MVP for the Zips.

—2023-24 Great American Rifle Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year.

—2023-24 first-team All-America from the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association and honorable mention for air rifle and small-bore combined.

—2023 Bronze Medal at USA Shooting’s Winter Air Gun competition.

—2024 At-Large Berth at the NCAA Rifle Championships.

Gavin Perkowski will finish up his final year on the team when he graduates in May with a degree in biomedical engineering. In July wedding bells will ring for him and his fiance Erin Schnupp, whom he met on the coed rifle team.

Engle said he regrets he’ll be losing both Gavin Perkowski and Schnupp after May.

“But that happens,” he said. “And when it does, the other team members step up to meet the challenge. Every year they do.”


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