While five members of the Wolfpack participated in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, only one of them competed outside of a swimming pool. Lucas Kozeniesky, a senior studying sport management, represented the Pack as a member of the USA Shooting Team. Kozeniesky placed 21st out of 50 in the men’s 10-meter air rifle event, and recorded the top American score.
Although his score was only slightly above average, it was impressive considering the fact that this was the 21-year-old shooter’s first Olympic performance and that he only had a few months to prepare.
Kozeniesky has only been shooting since his freshman year of high school when his family moved to Fairfax, Virginia. When he got to his new home and school, Kozeniesky was encouraged to find a sport or activity that interested him. He got into rifle shooting because he was looking for an activity that was different and difficult.
“I looked online and was like, ‘oh, rifle team sounds pretty cool,’” Kozeniesky said. “So I went to the interest meeting, and I liked the coaches, I liked that this was a very unique sport, and that I wasn’t good at it.”
In his junior year of high school, Kozeniesky was recruited by NC State rifle head coach Keith Miller. Miller was a member of the rifle team at State from 1981-85 and has been the head coach of the Wolfpack rifle team since 1990. Kozeniesky was Miller’s first Olympian, however, so Rio was a new atmosphere for both of them.
“We just kind of winged it,” Kozeniesky said. “Sometimes [Miller] knew some things right off the bat and other times it was a learning experience for both of us.”
Kozeniesky added that Miller has been a great support and person of guidance during his time at State. Kozeniesky also said that Miller, who has a background in electrical engineering, is very technical and deliberative when it comes to finding and fixing problems.
“He does that with every single one of us,” Kozeniesky said. “[He] tries to produce the best person. And so I’m very lucky to have him as a coach.”
In training for Rio, Kozeniesky only had a short time to prepare. Kozeniesky said that he sat down with coach Miller and they talked about what sort of events they should pursue. After laying out a plan, the duo went from one event to other, allowing Kozeniesky to improve each time.
“And as we came along we kind of made some minor tweaks or some big adjustments depending on what needed to happen,” Kozeniesky said.
Some of the competitions that Kozeniesky used to prepare for the Olympics were in Bangkok and the NCAA championships in Akron, Ohio. While some athletes have years to prepare for the Olympics, Kozeniesky qualified for the team in June, leaving little turnaround before the Olympics.
When he arrived in Rio, Kozeniesky was enthralled by the environment around him. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he explained that he was surprised and relieved by what he found when he got there.
“It was super serious, but not a stressful environment,” Kozeniesky said. “There was no negative energy. That was just kind of the vibe throughout everything — it was just positivity everywhere, you couldn’t escape it even if you tried.”
Though Kozeniesky did well in his event in Rio, he plans on improving and ultimately returning to the Olympics in 2020. With intentions to get on the podium in Tokyo, Kozeniesky will have to keep training at a high level. He is optimistic about his chances for the future.
“If I can do that much in just a few months, imagine what I can do in four years,” Kozeniesky said. “I’m super excited for that in that aspect.”
Kozeniesky plans to graduate in spring 2017. Despite the fact that he wants to continue shooting, he also wants to get a job and begin his career. Kozeniesky understands that it is difficult to make a living off of being an Olympic athlete, except for the few that earn multiple medals. Therefore he wants to keep his options open.
“I want to start a career, and I want to work in NCAA athletics or for the USOC [United States Olympic Committee],” Kozeniesky said. “I’m still trying to figure out which one. I’m just going to see if I can keep my foot in the door for shooting because it’s going to get a lot harder to find opportunities to shoot away from either, like NC State or the Olympic training center.”
However, in the meantime, Kozeniesky still has this upcoming season at NC State to worry about. He plans to use what he learned from him experience in Rio to help his team have another successful year, following last year’s record-breaking season.
“I learned a lot about just general technical stuff from being exposed to a different set of coaches and being exposed to higher level shooters,” Kozeniesky said. “And I’m going to try to bring anything that I can back to [my teammates]. I’m also trying to give them as much mental guidance.”
Kozeniesky also made an analogy between the upcoming season and his trip to the Olympics, saying the Wolfpack will be a “dark horse” just as he was in Rio. Hardly anyone expected him to make the Olympics, and Kozeniesky thinks that likewise many people won’t see the Pack coming this year.
“The dark horse thing, that’s what we’re going to try to do this year, is upset a few people and we’re going to try to push the ceiling high and set some records,” Kozeniesky said.
The season is fast approaching as the Wolfpack begins its season in a home matchup against West Virginia University in Reynolds Coliseum on Oct. 15. For Kozeniesky though, it likely can’t come soon enough.
