MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University rifle coach Jon Hammond has announced the signing of Ben Salas to a grant-in-aid for the 2023-24 academic year.
Salas comes to Morgantown after competing as a member of the North Carolina State Wolfpack rifle team for the first three seasons of his collegiate career. He has two seasons of athletic eligibility remaining.
“We are really excited to add Ben to our team and welcome him to the Mountaineer family,” Hammond said. “We have watched him improve and work hard for three years and really take some steps forward this year with impressive results and qualifying as an individual for the NCAA Championship.
“He will add some depth to our squad, and we are looking forward to working with him to fulfill his full potential over the next couple of years.”
Salas filled the Wolfpack record book during his time with NC State. He holds the top three aggregate scores in program history with marks of 1188, 1185 and 1184. The native of Tampa, Florida also holds the top smallbore score of 592 and the second-best air rifle mark of 597. He holds seven of the program’s top-10 best smallbore scores while adding three of the best air rifle scores.
Last season, Salas qualified for the NCAA National Championship as an individual. He held season averages of 1177.7 aggregate, 586.3 in smallbore and 591.5 in air rifle. He has competed in 32 career collegiate matches.
Salas attended Paul R. Wharton high school in Florida.