Peiser Has Historic Day, No. 2 WVU Rallies in Air Rifle to Win Dual Match
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was a historic day in Morgantown, West Virginia on Saturday for University of Kentucky junior Braden Peiser, setting a NCAA record and tying another as the No. 1 UK rifle team fell just short of No. 2 West Virginia in the overall dual match.
Peiser started his day in impressive fashion, posting a 599-46x to set a new NCAA record score for smallbore. Peiser posted a perfect 200 in kneeling and an incredible 200-20x in prone to sit 400 heading into standing. He thrived in standing as well with a 199 to set the new NCAA benchmark.
In air rifle, Peiser posted a 599 with 56 centers, ending his day with a 1198 with 102 centers. That 1198 ties the NCAA record for aggregate score in a match. It also breaks UK’s school record for aggregate scores. It goes without saying that he claimed the top individual award in the match.
Overall, UK posted a 2362 in smallbore to lead WVU by five points heading into air rifle. However, the Mountaineers outshot UK by 10 points in air rifle – 2389 to 2379 – to claim the match 4746-4741.
“That was a great rifle match with both sides really performing well and we just got outperformed by a really good team,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “This will be great experience for us to go on the road and face this kind of adversity. We handled it OK at times today, but have to do a better job of compartmentalizing some things and moving forward. Braden was fantastic today, that was really fun to watch. That smallbore performance was just amazing to watch. He really is performing well and we are all so proud of him and all that he has accomplished.”
Senior Sofia Ceccarello finished second on the team with a 1184 aggregate, scoring a 589 in smallbore and 595 in air rifle with 85 total centers. Fellow senior Martin Voss scored a 1180 with a 588 in smallbore with a perfect 200 in prone and 592 in air rifle.
Sophomore Sam Adkins scored a 1179 with a 586 in smallbore and 593 in air rifle. Adkins also shot a 200 prone. Fellow sophomore Liz Probst scored a 583 in smallbore and 592 in air rifle for a 1175 aggregate, while senior Brandon Evans also scored a 1175 with a 585 smallbore and 590 air rifle.
Freshmen Elisa Boozer and Jacob St. Hilaire scored a 1151 and 1163 aggregate, respectively. Boozer posted a 556 in smallbore and 595 in air rifle, while St. Hilaire earned a 571 in smallbore and 592 in air rifle. Senior AJ Hotko posted a 562 in smallbore and 585 in air rifle, while sophomore Hannah Todd posted a 560 in smallbore and 584 in air rifle. Junior Emily Marne only competed in smallbore with a 548.
Griffin Lake lead WVU with a 592 in smallbore and 596 in air rifle for a 1188 aggregate. Jacob Wisman scored a 1187 aggregate with a 588 in smallbore and 599 in air rifle.
Kentucky will return to action next weekend at Barker Hall, hosting a NCAA Qualifier with Morehead State and Georgia Southern. Competition is scheduled to begin around 8 a.m. ET and will feature two relays. Free breakfast will be available in Barker Hall during smallbore with the range opening to fans during air rifle. More information on the match will be released later next week on UKathletics.com.
