Rifle Ready for GARC Championships at WVU
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Postseason competition is finally here for the University of Kentucky rifle team as the Wildcats head to Morgantown, West Virginia this weekend to compete in the Great America Rifle Conference Championships on Saturday and Sunday.
The two-day event will feature smallbore Saturday and air rifle Sunday spread across two relays each day. The first smallbore relay will begin at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, the second relay will follow at 11:15 a.m. The finals are set for 1:30 p.m. The first air rifle relay on Sunday will begin at 9 a.m., and the second relay will follow at 11 a.m. with finals set for 1 p.m. An eight-finalist individual format will follow each day, crowing individual champions in smallbore and air rifle. Army, Akron, Memphis, Navy and West Virginia will join UK at the event. WVU is hosting the event inside the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell Building in Morgantown. Live targets and a NCAA Scorecard will both be available online at UKathletics.com.
Last season, Kentucky finished second overall and claimed silver as a team in smallbore and air rifle. Braden Peiser was the star at the event, winning individual gold in air rifle and individual bronze in smallbore. Overall, Peiser was the top aggregate performer at the event with a 1194 score. Sofia Ceccarello made the air rifle individual final as well. Kentucky last won the event in 2022 when it was hosted in West Point, New York.
“Looking forward to a fun weekend getting to compete back-to-back days with this team,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “This is postseason, so what every team has accomplished and done up until this point gets thrown out and we get to go out and just compete. I think we have worked really hard to be competing at a high level right now and happy with where our team is at. Looking forward to getting this weekend going tomorrow and seeing what we can do.”
Earlier this week, Kentucky qualified for its 31 NCAA Rifle National Championships, which are being hosted by the Wildcats inside the newly reimagined Historic Memorial Coliseum on March 14-15. It was last Saturday’s impressive NCA Qualifying score of 4740 that help cement UK’s place in the championships.
Both all-session tickets and single-session tickets are now on sale for Big Blue Nation to watch the championships inside the newly reimaged Historic Memorial Coliseum. 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. All-session and single-session tickets are on sale now through the UK Athletics Account Manager. All-session tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for youth (ages 3-18) and seniors (age 65+). Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for youth (ages 3-18) and seniors (age 65+). Children ages 2 and under will be admitted free of charge. Fans should purchase tickets for the event in advance through UK Athletics Account Manager through Ticketmaster or may call the UK Athletics Ticket Office during regular business hours. Tickets will also be available for purchase in person at the UK Athletics Ticket Office inside the Joe Craft Center.
On the season, Kentucky is averaging 2347.86 in smallbore and 2382.14 in air rifle for a 4730 team aggregate average. UK’s season-best team score came Nov. 24 in a tri-match with Air Force and Akron in Colorado Springs, Colorado, earning a 4748. The Wildcats are one of four teams in the nation to post a 2360 or higher team smallbore score, while Kentucky’s 2391 season-best air rifle score is tied for the third highest team score in the nation this season.
Individually, sophomore Braden Peiser is Kentucky’s top aggregate performer with a 591.75 smallbore average and 596.833 air rifle average for an aggregate average of 1188.583. Junior Sofia Ceccarello has the team’s best air rifle average at 597.769 and is second in aggregate average with a 1186.769 including her 589 smallbore average. Freshman Liz Probst is having a great rookie season with a 583.077 smallbore average and 594.769 air rifle average for a 1177.846 aggregate average. Fellow freshman Sam Adkins is also averaging a 1179.230 aggregate average with a 584.615 smallbore average and 594.615 air rifle average. Junior Martin Voss is averaging a 585 in smallbore and 591.667 in air rifle for a 1176.667 aggregate, while Buesseler is earning a 582.615 average in smallbore and 590.538 in air rifle for a 1173.153 aggregate average. Freshman Brandon Evans is earning a 581.462 in smallbore and 590.625 in air rifle, while junior AJ Hotko is posting a 576.143 smallbore average and 590.625 air rifle average. Freshman Hannah Todd is having a good season, averaging a 563.75 in smallbore and 584.375 in air rifle, while sophomore Emily Marne is earning a 540.333 in smallbore and 569.833 in air rifle.
For more information on the Kentucky rifle team, visit UKathletics.com or follow UKRifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
