No. 1 Rifle Wins Round 1 vs. Air Force, Akron
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 1 University of Kentucky rifle team continued its strong start to the 2024-25 season with a tri-match victory over Air Force and Akron on Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Seven Wildcats competed across two relays Saturday on the campus of the United State Air Force Academy. UK will compete against the same two teams against Sunday in a tri-match with both relays competing simultaneously starting at 10 a.m. ET.
“Wasn’t our best day in the range, but the team dug deep to find some good scores and we learned a lot about ourselves,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “Quick turnaround to put anything we didn’t like out there today behind us and get back after it.”
Kentucky scored a 4728 team aggregate score to top Akron, who had a 4696, and host Air Force, who had a 4692. UK started with a 2346 in smallbore and followed with a 2382 in air rifle. Overall, UK had 333 total centers across both disciplines on Saturday.
UK was led in smallbore by freshman Sam Adkins and sophomore Braden Peiser, who each shot 589s. Adkins added 32 centers, while Peiser had a team-best 39 in smallbore. Adkins posted a 198 in kneeling, 196 in prone and 195 in standing to post the high score, while Peiser earned a 193 in kneeling, 198 in prone and 198 in standing. Junior Sofia Ceccarello scored a 586 in smallbore with a 195 in kneeling, 200 in prone and 191 in standing with 34 centers. Senior Allison Buesseler and freshman Liz Probst each scored 582s in smallbore. Buesseler had a 195 in kneeling, 198 in prone and 189 in standing with 31 centers, while Probst had a 194 in kneeling, 195 in prone and 193 in standing with 25 centers. Junior Martin Voss had a 191 in kneeling, 200 in prone and 189 in prone with 29 centers and a 580 score, while freshman Brandon Evans scored a 194 in kneeling, 198 in prone and 183 in standing with 29 centers.
In air rifle, Kentucky was paced by Ceccarello, who scored a 599, shooting five perfect rounds of 10 to end her set and score the high mark. Adkins followed with a 597, while Evans had a 594. Voss and Peiser each scored 593s in the discipline, while Probst and Buesseler wrapped up the UK scoring with 589s.
Adkins edged out Ceccarello for the top individual performer honor at the tri-match, scoring a 1186 aggregate ahead of Ceccarello’s 1185. Peiser finished in fourth place with a 1182 aggregate, while Voss was eighth with a 1173 aggregate and Probst and Buesseler tied in ninth with a 1171.
This weekend’s tri matches complete the 2024 schedule for Kentucky. 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.
