Highest Home Score of the Year Propels Rifle to Tri-Match Win
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a strong showing in both smallbore and air rifle paced by an impressive 1190 aggregate score from junior Sofia Ceccarello, the University of Kentucky rifle team scored a 4740 aggregate to defeat Army and Murray State in a tri-match on Saturday inside Barker Hall in Lexington, Kentucky.
Kentucky’s 4740 team score ties its season high and was the highest mark this season at a home match for the Wildcats. UK started with a 2354 in smallbore and finished with 2386 in air rifle. In total, UK had 321 centers. UK’s smallbore score was its third highest this season and its air rifle team score was its second highest. Murray State finished second with a 4717 team score, while Army was third at 4677.
“Good performance today and happy to be back in the range with the team, especially at home,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “It was good for us to put together a good score in front of Big Blue Nation to cap off a good home fall schedule. We have two more matches left in 2024 before we break for the holidays. It will be good for the team to get right back out on the road next weekend and compete against two quality teams in Air Force and Akron.”
Kentucky had nine athletes compete across two relays Saturday inside Barker Hall with Ceccarello, sophomore Braden Peiser and freshman Liz Probst in the first relay and senior Allison Buesseler, juniors AJ Hotko and Martin Voss and freshmen Hannah Todd, Brandon Evans and Sam Adkins in the second relay.
Ceccarello led Kentucky and took home the overall individual aggregate honor at the tri-match, posting a season-best 1190 aggregate score. The Italian started her day with a 591 in smallbore, posting an incredible 200 in standing, preceded by a 193 in kneeling and 198 in prone with 34 total centers. She was followed closely by Peiser, who scored a 592 in smallbore and 596 in air rifle for a 1188 aggregate. Peiser scored a 196 in kneeling, 200 in prone and 196 in standing with 39 total centers. Probst wrapped up the first relay with a 583 in smallbore with 29 centers, earning a 193 in kneeling, 200 in prone and 190 in standing.
In air rifle, Ceccarello shined again with a 599 score, earning 55 centers. Peiser was right behind her against with a 596 and 51 centers, while Probst concluded the first relay with a 594 and 42 centers.
In the second relay, Adkins led Kentucky with a 586 smallbore with 22 centers, scoring 194 in kneeling, 199 in prone and 193 in standing. Voss was right behind him with a 585, earning a 193 in kneeling, 199 in prone and 193 in standing with 28 centers. Evans scored a 585 with a 192 in kneeling, 197 in prone and 196 in standing, while Buesseler scored a 584 with a 195 in kneeling, 198 in prone and 191 in standing. Todd wrapped up the second relay with a 568, earning a 184 in kneeling, 192 in prone and 188 in standing. Hotko did not participate in smallbore.
In air rifle, Adkins scored a 597 with 50 centers, while Voss had a 594 with 43 centers and Buesseler scored a 593 with 36 centers. Evans earned a 589 with 39 centers while Todd scored a 590 with 42 centers and Hotko posted a 586 with 31 centers.
Murray State was led by Scott Patterson, who scored a 1183 aggregate with a 586 in smallbore and 597 in air rifle. Army was paced by Briggs Moore with a 1174 aggregate, including a 583 in smallbore and 591 in air rifle.
Next weekend UK travels to Colorado Springs, Colorado for two matches beginning Nov. 23 vs. Akron and ending Nov. 24 vs. Air Force and Akron. UK will then break for the year and return in early 2025 to complete the final stretch of the season. The 2025 slate begins with a dual match on Jan. 12 with Georgia Southern in Lexington, before traveling Jan. 19-20 to Murray, Kentucky, to compete in the Withrow Invitational and vs. Memphis. Kentucky will travel to North Georgia on Jan. 26 for a dual match before two matches vs. Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. UK wraps the regular season on Feb. 8 against WVU in Lexington before hosting its NCAA Qualifier on Feb. 22.
Postseason competition begins March 1-2 with the Great America Rifle Conference Championships in Morgantown, West Virginia. 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.
