OXFORD, Miss. — Behind an outstanding performance from sophomore Megan English in air rifle, the Kentucky rifle team posted a 4645 total score to finish second at the Great American Rifle Conference Championships, held Saturday and Sunday at Ole Miss’ Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center.

Kentucky (8-3) finished second in the GARC Championships, hosted by Ole Miss, finishing with a win in the air rifle, totaling a 2348, four points better than second place Ole Miss. UK finished second in the smallbore portion of the match, totaling a 2297.

“We had an OK performance. It certainly would have been nice to win, but we showed to ourselves that we can improve on the performance in day two of a two-day event,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “We should have had a few more points in smallbore, but I think that we will find those in the next few weeks.”

The Wildcats were led by English in air rifle, who posted a team-best 592. Freshman Katie Fretts shot a 586, while sophomore Ethan Settlemires (585) and senior Ashley Jackson (585) rounded out the air gun team. In smallbore, Settlemires led the way with a 578, with Fretts (571), Jackson (576) and senior Tom Csenge (572) wrapping up the smallbore squad.

Defending NCAA champion West Virginia finished with the GARC Championship title, besting the Wildcats by eight points.

“Overall, the team did well and performed up to their capabilities under the pressure,” Mullins said. “Now it is time to work out a few more bugs and see what we can do at the NCAAs. We learned a lot about our team and how we handle stress in the major tournaments during the weekend.”

Kentucky will return to action at the NCAA Championships, hosted by TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, March 11-14.