Honors & Awards

• Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2012)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2012)
• CRCA All-Academic Honoree (2011)
• Shares NU Freshman Smallbore Record (582)
• Two Individual Smallbore Titles (2011)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2011, 2012; Spring 2012)
• Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2010; Spring 2011)
• USA Shooting Air Rifle Junior Olympics (2009)

Season Outlook (2012-13)
Sunny Russell came on strong during the second half of her sophomore season at Nebraska, posting several solid performances to close out the year. She will now aim to lock up a spot in both the air rifle and smallbore lineups in her junior year while continuing her role as one of NU's academic leaders.

"Sunny is a great example of the student-athlete experience," Head Coach Stacy Underwood said. "She is developing into a top performer for our team through her dedicated work on the range. Her involvement in SAAC and Life Skills provides great personal development and growth. Coupled along with the education she is receiving, she will be an excellent young leader when leaves our program."

Sophomore (2011-12)
Sunny Russell, a leader in the classroom, also achieved success on the rifle range during her sophomore season by appearing in nine smallbore events as well as nine air rifle events. Russell's season was highlighted by her career-best air rifle score of 591 at the Roger Withrow Invitational. She ended up with a 577.89 average in air rifle, which was the fourth-best on the team. Russell produced a 563 average in smallbore.

Russell continued her success in the classroom as she earned academic All-Big Ten accolades and the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. In addition, Russell was named to the Nebraska Scholar Athlete Honor Roll for her work during both semesters.

Freshman (2010-11)
Russell produced a solid freshman season with Nebraska, appearing in all 14 competitions as a smallbore competitor and eight in air rifle. Russell's best performance came in only her second competition of the year, when she posted a meet-high score of 582 in smallbore. The mark tied NU's freshman smallbore record, and was the highest smallbore score of the season by a Husker. Russell completed the season with a 563.36 smallbore average and a 574.12 air rifle average.

Russell also shined in the classroom, earning spots on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll in the fall and spring semesters, including a perfect 4.0 GPA in the spring.

Before Nebraska
Russell finished 17th among 89 competitors at the 2009 Texas 4-H Indoor 3-Position Smallbore Rifle Match. She also competed at the 2009 USA Shooting Air Rifle Junior Olympics in Colorado Springs, Colo. She was a National Honor Society member and an academic all-district selection in high school.

Personal
Sunny was born Aug. 18, 1992. She is the daughter of Lem and Cindy Russell and has one brother, Rustin, who competes on the rifle team at Memphis. Sunny is majoring in child, youth and family studies at Nebraska and earned academic All-Big Ten honors in 2012. She was a CRCA All-Academic selection in 2011.

Career Bests
Smallbore - 582 (vs. Army, 10/10/10)
Air Rifle - 591 (at Roger Withrow Invitational, 1/28/12)