Probst Earns Silver, Wildcats in Second After Day 1 of GARCs
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Freshman Liz Probst posted Kentucky’s highest smallbore score and went on to win silver in the individual final to cap off a strong first day for the Wildcats at the 2025 Great America Rifle Conference Championships in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Probst posted a 588 in smallbore to make it into the individual final and performed well in the individual championship to finish second and earn silver. Probst was joined in the eight-person final by senior Ally Buesseler and junior Martin Voss. Buesseler finished seventh while Voss finished sixth.
Kentucky posted a team smallbore score of 2346 on Saturday, which is good for second place in the team standings. WVU leads with a 2350, while Navy is in third with a 2339.
The two-day event featured smallbore Saturday and will continue with air rifle Sunday spread across two relays each day. The first air rifle relay 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.
“Very proud of Liz for her performance today,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “Liz obviously didn’t have her best performance last week at the NCAA Qualifier, but she responded today and I am so proud of her performance. As a team, we did some good things and are in a good position. We have to just regroup and come out tomorrow ready to compete at a high level.”
Kentucky’s 10 athletes competed across two relays Saturday to earn the strong smallbore score. UK used the countable lineup of juniors Sofia Ceccarello and Voss, sophomore Braden Peiser and freshman Sam Adkins and Probst. Probst led Kentucky’s countable lineup with a 588, earning a 194 in kneeling, 199 in prone and 195 in standing, while Voss scored a 587 with a 195 in kneeling, 200 in prone and 192 in standing. Peiser scored a 195 in kneeling, 197 in prone and 194 in standing for a 586. Adkins and Ceccarello each scored a 585 with Adkins earning a 196 in kneeling and prone and 193 in standing. Ceccarello earned a 197 in kneeling and prone along with a 191 in standing.
UK’s non-countable participants also performed well with Buesseler leading the way with a 588, adding a 194 in kneeling, 200 in prone and 194 in standing. Freshman Brandon Evans scored a 583 with a 192 in kneeling, 198 in prone and 193 in standing, while junior AJ Hotko scored a 577 with a 190 in kneeling, 195 in prone and 192 in standing. Freshman Hannah Todd scored a 573 with a 189 in kneeling, 197 in prone and 187 in standing, while sophomore Emily Marne completes the scoring with a 168 n kneeling, 190 in standing and 183 in standing.
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.
For more information on the Kentucky rifle team, visit UKathletics.com or follow UKRifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
