LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 3 University of Kentucky rifle team was on target in air rifle, tying the school record air rifle team score of 2392 en route to the team’s second-highest score of the year Saturday in a win at No. . 1 Ole Miss at Oxford, Mississippi.
Kentucky started the day with a 2349 in the small scissor, but it was the air rifle that propelled UK to victory. The Wildcats scored a 2392 in air rifle, which ties the highest air rifle team score in program history. All five in the UK countable air rifle lineup scored a 592 or higher with the top four UK scores each above 597.
The high air rifle score gave the UK an overall team score of 4741, which is the second highest UK team score of the year and the best road score of the year. Ole Miss posted a 2349 in small rifle and a 2374 in air rifle for a team score of 4723.
“Delighted with the performance today,” said UK head coach Harry Mullins. “The team has been training very, very hard and it was good to see them get some high scores today. We have a quick turnaround now, competing against Memphis tomorrow. So we’ll enjoy their win for a little while and then focus on another doubleheader tomorrow.”
Kentucky used the same five athletes in both count lineups in super seniors Richard Clark and Will Shaner, sophomores Kayla Kalenza and Allison Buesseler and freshman Sofia Ceccarello. In small hoops, Ceccarello and Clark led with 590s, while Shaner scored a 585, Buesseler a 584 and Kalenza a 582. In air rifle, Buesseler set a career high and Ceccarello tied it with 599 points each, while Kalenza also won a career high with 597. Shaner also had a 597, while Clark closed out the scoring with a 592.
The rest of the UK roster competed on Saturday and put up good numbers. Seniors Mason Hamilton, Jaden Thompson and Emmie Sellers each shot over 1170 aggregate. Hamilton was 584 in small rifle and 588 in air rifle, while Thompson was 582 in small rifle and 593 in air rifle and Sellers was 585 in small rifle and 597 in air rifle. Senior Mitchell Nelson was 583 in small rifle and 593 in air rifle, while sophomore Tori Kopelen scored a 574 in small rifle and 593 in air rifle. Rookies Martin Voss and AJ Hotko each performed well. Voss scored a 584 in small rifle and 587 in air rifle, while Hotko had a 532 in small rifle and 587 in air rifle.
Ole Miss was led by Kristen Derting, who scored a 589 in small rifle and a 595 in air rifle. Lea Horvath was right behind her with a 587 on board and 594 on air rifle.
Kentucky will return to action Sunday in Memphis in a doubleheader with the Tigers. The game is scheduled to begin at approximately 9 a.m. ET and live scores will be available online at Megalink, while a live scorecard can be found at NCArifle.org.
For more information on the Kentucky rifle team, visit UKathletics.com or follow UKRifle at I tweetInstagram and Facebook.
