Rifle Ends Fall Home Slate Saturday vs. Army, Murray State
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Following an impressive showing last time out, the University of Kentucky rifle team is looking to keep its momentum going this weekend by hosting a tri-match with Army and in-state foe Murray State inside Barker Hall on Saturday.
Sights and prep for smallbore will begin at 9 a.m. ET with air rifle getting underway at approx. 11 a.m. ET. There will be two relays Saturday with smallbore relay 2 starting at approx. 1 p.m. ET and air rifle relay 2 at approx. 3 p.m. ET. Spectators are invited to watch smallbore scores up in Barker Hall and enjoy free breakfast during the first part of the relay. The range will be open to spectators for each air rifle relay. Admission is free.
Another way for fans to follow along both in-person and watching at home will be live commentary online to help provide a breakdown of the action and how the teams and competitors are performing. Former Wildcat Emmie Sellers, who helped lead UK to two NCAA National Championship during her successful five-year tenure, will be providing commentary of the first relay on Saturday. The live commentary will be available through the UK Rifle Facebook Page, along with live targets and a NCAA scorecard.
“Should be a fun Saturday in the range with three really good teams,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “I was proud of the score we posted in Oxford two weeks ago, but we still have a lot of room for growth and that is what we have been working on the last week or so. We have had some great crowds out this season and hopefully Big Blue Nation will come out tomorrow as well.”
Kentucky had its best performance of the season two weeks ago in Oxford, Mississippi in a dual-match victory over Ole Miss. The Wildcats posted a team aggregate score of 4740, becoming only the fourth team in the nation this season to score a 4740 or higher. UK posted a season-best smallbore team score of 2356 and its second-highest air rifle team score of 2384 to earn the high overall mark. Both team scores were some of the highest in the nation this season.
Sophomore Braden Pesier took home the top individual aggregate award vs. Ole Miss with a 1188, just edging fellow teammate and junior Sofia Ceccarello, who also had a 1188. Peiser earned the top spot to break the tie with 89 total centers, while Ceccarello had 88. Freshman Liz Probst finished just behind them in third place with a 1183 and 86 centers. True freshman Sam Adkins finished in fifth in the overall count with a 1179 and 74 centers, while junior Martin Voss finished ninth overall with a 1177 with 75 centers.
Ceccarello is the leading performer for Kentucky so far this season, averaging a 1188.5 aggregate with a 590.5 in smallbore and 598 in air rifle. Peiser is right behind her with a 1186.25 aggregate, including a 590.75 in smallbore and 595.5 in air rifle. Probst, Adkins and Voss are having great seasons for Kentucky. Probst is third on the team with a 584.75 smallbore, 595.25 air rifle and 1180 aggregate, while Adkins has a 583 in smallbore and 596 in air rifle and Voss is earning a 584.5 in smallbore and 590 in air rifle. Sophomore AJ Hotko is earning a 574 in smallbore and 592.5 in air rifle, while freshman Brandon Evans is posting a 579 in smallbore and 586.5 in air rifle. Senior Allison Buesseler is averaging a 579 in smallbore and 586.333 in air rifle. Freshman Hannah Todd is earning a 553.5 in smallbore and 580.5 in air rifle, while sophomore Emily Marne is earning a 554.4 in smallbore and 576.5 in air rifle.
Murray State is having a great season and coming off a season-best 4728 team score vs. UTEP. The Racers are averaging 2346.40 in smallbore and 2373.80 in air rifle for a team aggregate average of 4720.20. Carlotta Salafia is the top performer for Murray State with a 586.667 smallbore average and 597.667 air rifle average.
Army enters the weekend with a 2319.40 smallbore team average and 2356.40 air rifle team average for an aggregate average of 4675.80. Last weekend, Army lost a home dual match to West Virginia, 4752-4678.
Next weekend UK travels to Colorado Springs, Colorado for two matches beginning Nov. 23 vs. Akron and ending Nov. 24 vs. Air Force and Akron. UK will then break for the year and return in early 2025 to complete the final stretch of the season. The 2025 slate begins with a dual match on Jan. 12 with Georgia Southern in Lexington, before traveling Jan. 19-20 to Murray, Kentucky, to compete in the Withrow Invitational and vs. Memphis. Kentucky will travel to North Georgia on Jan. 26 for a dual match before two matches vs. Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. UK wraps the regular season on Feb. 8 against WVU in Lexington before hosting its NCAA Qualifier on Feb. 22.
Postseason competition begins March 1-2 with the Great America Rifle Conference Championships in Morgantown, West Virginia. The NCAA Rifle Championships return to Lexington for the first time since 2020. 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. Ticket information and full schedule of events for the championships will be announced later.
For more information on the Kentucky rifle team, visit UKathletics.com or follow UKRifle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
