No. 1 Rifle Travels to No. 2 West Virginia Saturday for Dual Match
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 1 University of Kentucky rifle team will hit the road this weekend, traveling to compete in a dual-match vs. No. 2 West Virginia on Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Sights and prep for smallbore will begin at 9 a.m. ET with air rifle getting underway at approx. 11:30 a.m. ET. There will only be one relay Saturday with all 11 UK athletes on the same relay. Live targets and a NCAA Scorecard will be available online at UKathletics.com.
“After a good couple weeks of training, we are excited to get back into the range and compete this weekend against a really good West Virginia squad,” UK head coach Harry Mullins said. “This will be one of the few times this season where we get to all compete together and that adds a different element to this all. I think our team is working hard to fix the things we need to fix and I look forward to seeing how we handle it all Saturday in Morgantown.”
The 2026 portion of the schedule for Kentucky has started in historic fashion. After beginning the year in Alaska by tying a NCAA record team score and setting a school-record smallbore team score, the Wildcats topped that two weekends back at the UK Rifle Range by becoming the first NCAA team to eclipse the 4760 mark. UK posted a 4762 against Akron on Jan. 31 to set a new NCAA benchmark score. The Wildcats also tied the NCAA air rifle team score mark with a 2395.
Sophomore Liz Probst was the star of the match for Kentucky, shooting a perfect 600 score in air rifle. The perfect mark was her first 600 in air rifle in her career. Probst posted a 1188 aggregate in the match, finishing third overall. It was junior Braden Peiser that claimed the top individual honor, scoring a 1195 aggregate with a 597 in smallbore and 598 in air rifle. Senior Sofia Ceccarello finished second with a 594 in smallbore and 599 in air rifle for a 1193 aggregate.
On the season, Kentucky is averaging a 2348.82 in smallbore and 2386.18 in air rifle with a 4735 aggregate average. Peiser leads Kentucky with a 594.875 smallbore average and 597.857 air rifle average for a 1192.750 aggregate average. Adkins is second on the team with a 588 smallbore average and 597.3 air rifle average for a 1185.3 aggregate average.
Ceccarello is third on the team with a 587.333 smallbore average and 596.889 air rifle average for a 1184.222 aggregate, while Probst is averaging a 585 smallbore and 596.75 air rifle for a 1181.75 aggregate.
Senior Brandon Evans is having a great season with a 582.6 smallbore average and 592.3 air rifle average, while fellow senior Martin Voss is earning a 583.333 smallbore and 590.222 air rifle. Freshmen Elisa Boozer and Jacob St. Hilaire are having great seasons. Boozer is earning a 577.6 smallbore and 593.8 air rifle, while St. Hilaire is earning a 576.125 smallbore and 591.75 air rifle.
Sophomore Hannah Todd is earning a 567.5571 smallbore and 585.857 air rifle, while senior AJ Hotko is posting a 568.25 smallbore and 581.75 air rifle. Junior Emily Marne is earning a 557 smallbore and 570 air rifle.
West Virginia is averaging a 2351.20 smallbore and 2385 air rifle this season for a 4736.20 aggregate average. Griffin Lake is leading WVU with
