No. 2 Rifle Hits Road for First Time, Competes at No. 5 Georgia Southern Saturday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Looking to build off its strong start to the 2024-25 season last weekend vs. Morehead State, the No. 2 University of Kentucky rifle team hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to No. 5 Georgia Southern for a dual-match Saturday in Statesboro, Georgia.
Sights and prep for smallbore will begin at 7:45 a.m. ET with the match officially starting at 8 a.m. ET. There will only be one relay per discipline Saturday. Live targets and NCAA scorecard will be available online at UKathletics.com.
“This will be a good test for our team this weekend,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “It is always good to get out on the road early on and get that experience under your belt. Like I said last week, I was pleased with our performance and hope that continues this weekend. We have a lot of work left to do to be at our best and this match is a great test as we try to continue to improve.”
In its season-opening match against Morehead State last weekend, Kentucky posted a team score of 4721, earning a 2334 in smallbore and 2387 in air rifle. Kentucky’s air rifle team score was the second-highest in the nation last weekend, while its team score was the fifth-highest in the nation.
Sophomore Braden Peiser led Kentucky with a 1187 aggregate, earning a 589 in smallbore and 598 in air rifle. Three of Kentucky’s freshmen shined in their first collegiate match with Liz Probst, Sam Adkins and Brandon Evans each scoring high in both disciplines. Probst earned a 583 in smallbore and 599 in air rifle, while Adkins shot a 579 in smallbore and 597 in air rifle and Evans performed well with a 583 in smallbore and 591 in air rifle. Junior Martin Voss was the only other Wildcats shooting over a 1170 aggregate with a 580 in smallbore and 592 in air rifle. Fellow junior Sofia Ceccarello only competed in air rifle and shot a 598.
Senior Ally Buesseler, junior AJ Hotko, sophomore Emily Marne and freshman Hannah Todd also competed last weekend. Buesseler posted a 1166 aggregate wit a 577 smallbore, 589 air rifle, while Hotko was right behind her with a 565 smallbore and 592 air rifle. Todd performed well in her first collegiate match with a 1144 aggregate, earing a 560 smallbore and 584 air rifle. Marne wrapped up the scoring with a 561 smallbore and 573 air rifle.
Georgia Southern had a fantastic start to their season, winning a dual-match vs. North Georgia with a 4722 team score and then just narrowly missing a dual-match win vs. West Virginia with a 4727 team score. Both of Georgia Southern’s team scores from last weekend ranked top-five in the nation last weekend. Emme Walrath led the Eagles last weekend, averaging a 590 in smallbore and 597.5 in air rifle, while Ella Goldfaden was right behind her with a 585.5 in smallbore and 596 in air rifle. Emma Pholmann also had a 585.5 in smallbore and 592 in air rifle.
The Wildcats return to Lexington on Oct. 26 for a tri-match with Navy and North Georgia before a dual match at Ole Miss on Nov. 2. After a week off, UK wraps the fall portion of the schedule with three competitions across eight days starting with a home tri-match with Army and Murray State on Nov. 16. The following weekend UK travels to Colorado Springs, Colorado for two matches beginning Nov. 23 vs. Akron and ending Nov. 24 vs. Air Force and Akron.
The NCAA Rifle Championships return to Lexington for the first time since 2020. The two-day event will see the best air rifle and smallbore competitors in the nation compete on the historic Memorial Coliseum floor. The smallbore competition will be March 14 followed by air rifle competition on March 15. Ticket information and full schedule of events for the championships will be announced later.
For more information on the Kentucky rifle team, visit UKathletics.com or follow UKRifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
