Rifle Places Second at Withrow Invitational

MURRAY, Ky. – Sophomore Sofia Ceccarello had the top aggregate score, winning both the smallbore and air rifle events, as the Kentucky rifle team placed second in the five-team Withrow Invitational on Sunday at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range in Murray, Ky.

No. 3-ranked Kentucky posted a 4712 team score, second behind No. 10-ranked Murray State, which won the event with a total tally of 4717.  The Wildcats were followed by Jacksonville State (4703), North Georgia (4657) and UAB (4586).

Ceccarello opened with a 589 score in smallbore, nipping Frans Rasmusson of Jacksonville State by one point.  She notched 598 in air rifle, winning by two points over Scott Patterson and Matias Kiuru of Murray State.  Her 1187 aggregate topped the field of 42 competitors as Patterson finished second with a total of 1181.

As a team, Kentucky shot 2332 in smallbore, six points back from co-leaders Murray State and Jacksonville State.  The Wildcats had the best team score in air rifle with a mark of 2380, enough to pass the Gamecocks but not enough to catch the victorious Racers.

Kentucky results           SB          AR       Aggregate

Sofia Ceccarello            589       598      1187

Braden Peiser               582       595      1177

Emmie Sellers               581       593       1174

Allison Buesseler          580      594      1174

Martin Voss                   580      593       1173

Jaden Thompson          576     592       1168

Kayla Kalenza                 572       588       1160

AJ Hotko                         577      581      1158

Emily Marne                 561       —           —

“It was one of those days, disappointing not to perform the way we wanted to,” Coach Harry Mullins said. “Fortunately, we have three weeks to work out the kinks before our next test.”

Kentucky returns to action Saturday, Feb. 10, as the Wildcats conclude the regular season with a match at West Virginia.