Tucker Wins NCAA Smallbore Championship; Cats First After Day One
COLUMBUS, Ohio – University of Kentucky sophomore Mary Tucker was on target in the final, running away from the other seven finalists to claim the NCAA Smallbore Individual Championship on Friday in Columbus, Ohio. As a team, the Wildcats sit in first place after earning a match-best 2352 in the discipline.
After firing a match-best 594 in smallbore in regular competition, Tucker was impressive in the 45-shot individual final earning a total of 463.3. TCU’s Stephanie Grundsoe was second with a 4591, while Lea Horvath from Ole Miss was third at 449.1.
Tucker is the second Kentucky athlete to claim the NCAA individual smallbore championship, joining Ethan Settlemires, who earned the honor in 2011. She is the fifth Wildcat to claim an NCAA individual championship and the first since Henrik Larsen won the air rifle crown in 2018.
The events will conclude Saturday with two relays of air rifle, followed by the air rifle individual final. An air rifle individual and overall team champion will be crowned following Saturday’s events. Live targets are available through megalink, while the NCAA will keep track of all scores here.
“Very proud of all our performances today and obviously Mary had an outstanding day. We are all very happy for her as she has earned this honor,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “As a team, we had a good day today. I was proud of how they fought in the range and gave it their all. We have to keep fighting tomorrow and have another good day.”
Kentucky is in the lead after the first day of competition, scoring a team smallbore score of 2352. The high mark is the sixth best in the nation this season and marks the fourth time UK has scored over 2350 in the discipline. No other team nationally has scored 2350 or higher more than twice.
TCU is in second place after smallbore, posting a 2342, while Ole Miss is third at 2337 and West Virginia is fourth at 2332. Alaska Fairbanks is fifth at 2326 with Nebraska sitting sixth at 2320, Air Force seventh at 2312 and Memphis eighth at 2301.
Tucker led all shooters with a 594 in smallbore, shooting 198 in kneeling, 198 in prone and 198 standing. Junior Will Shaner was second for the Wildcats with a 587, while senior Hailee Sigmon was third on the team with a 586. Shaner’s score was ninth best at the event, while Sigmon’s was 10th best. Junior Richard Clark posted a 585 to sit 11th overall in the discipline while sophomore Jaden Thompson posted a 576.
This is the 27th appearance all time for Kentucky in the NCAA Championships. The Wildcats, who are currently ranked second nationally and were regular-season Great America Rifle Conference Co-Champions, has won the national title twice – 2011 and 2018 – with six runner-up finishes.
For more information on the Kentucky rifle team, visit UKathletics.com or follow UKRifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
