Saturday, February 14
Morgantown, W.Va.
9 A.M.
West Virginia University
4746
vs
4741
Kentucky
West Virginia Claims Third Straight GARC Regular Season Title
February 14, 2026 05:30 PM | Rifle
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 2-ranked West Virginia University rifle team collected its third straight and 17th Great America Rifle Conference regular season title, downing No. 1 Kentucky, 4746-4741, on Saturday inside the WVU Shell Building at the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range.
The win marks the Mountaineers' 13th over a ranked opponent this season as West Virginia finishes a perfect 5-0 in GARC action this season. It is also marked WVU's highest-ranked win of the season.
The Mountaineers trailed Kentucky after smallbore by five points, following the Wildcats 2362 score compared to WVU's 2357. Kentucky's mark was spurred on by Braden Peiser's 599, which is an NCAA record score in the discipline. West Virginia flipped the script in air rifle, hitting a 2389 as the Wildcats scored 2379.
For smallbore and air rifle, Junior Griffin Lake, sophomores Jennifer Kocher and Camryn Camp and freshman Oceanne Muller served as counters. Additionally, Junior Lauri Syrja counted in smallbore and Sophomore Ashlyn Blake counted in air rifle. The Mountaineers claimed four of the top five spots on the overall leaderboard.
Griffin Lake finished in second place on the overall leaderboard with a 1188 following scores of 592 in smallbore and 596 in air rifle. His score in smallbore was the second best in the field.
Jacob Wisman finished in third place following a career day score of 1187. He opened the day with a 588 in smallbore before turning in a career-best mark of 599 in air rifle.
Kocher finished in fourth place after a 590 in smallbore and a 596 in air rifle to total a 1186. Oceanne Muller finished just behind with a 1184. She scored 585 in smallbore and then tied for first in air rifle with a 599. Her 599 matched a career best.
Camp finished in seventh place with a 1183 (590 SB – 593 AR) as Syrja took eighth place with a 1182 (585 SB – 597 AR). Blake scored a 1178 (580 SB – 598 AR) with her air rifle score the fourth best in the field.
Senior Maximus Duncan finished with a 1177 (585 SB – 592 AR) and Freshman Jack Ogoreuc finished with a 1176 (589 SB – 587 AR). Hana Strakusek only competed in air rifle, where she turned in a fifth-place score of 597 to match a career best.
Kentucky's Peiser finished in first place after tying the NCAA record score of 1198 with his marks of 599 in both smallbore and air rifle.
The Mountaineers now turn their attention to the postseason with competition in the NCAA Qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 21. The match will be shot at the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell building.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on X, Instagram and Facebook.
The win marks the Mountaineers' 13th over a ranked opponent this season as West Virginia finishes a perfect 5-0 in GARC action this season. It is also marked WVU's highest-ranked win of the season.
The Mountaineers trailed Kentucky after smallbore by five points, following the Wildcats 2362 score compared to WVU's 2357. Kentucky's mark was spurred on by Braden Peiser's 599, which is an NCAA record score in the discipline. West Virginia flipped the script in air rifle, hitting a 2389 as the Wildcats scored 2379.
For smallbore and air rifle, Junior Griffin Lake, sophomores Jennifer Kocher and Camryn Camp and freshman Oceanne Muller served as counters. Additionally, Junior Lauri Syrja counted in smallbore and Sophomore Ashlyn Blake counted in air rifle. The Mountaineers claimed four of the top five spots on the overall leaderboard.
Griffin Lake finished in second place on the overall leaderboard with a 1188 following scores of 592 in smallbore and 596 in air rifle. His score in smallbore was the second best in the field.
Jacob Wisman finished in third place following a career day score of 1187. He opened the day with a 588 in smallbore before turning in a career-best mark of 599 in air rifle.
Kocher finished in fourth place after a 590 in smallbore and a 596 in air rifle to total a 1186. Oceanne Muller finished just behind with a 1184. She scored 585 in smallbore and then tied for first in air rifle with a 599. Her 599 matched a career best.
Camp finished in seventh place with a 1183 (590 SB – 593 AR) as Syrja took eighth place with a 1182 (585 SB – 597 AR). Blake scored a 1178 (580 SB – 598 AR) with her air rifle score the fourth best in the field.
Senior Maximus Duncan finished with a 1177 (585 SB – 592 AR) and Freshman Jack Ogoreuc finished with a 1176 (589 SB – 587 AR). Hana Strakusek only competed in air rifle, where she turned in a fifth-place score of 597 to match a career best.
Kentucky's Peiser finished in first place after tying the NCAA record score of 1198 with his marks of 599 in both smallbore and air rifle.
The Mountaineers now turn their attention to the postseason with competition in the NCAA Qualifier on Saturday, Feb. 21. The match will be shot at the Bill McKenzie Mobile Rifle Range inside the WVU Shell building.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVURifle on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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