West Virginia University Athletics

A native of Casselton, North Dakota, Soren Butler was named assistant coach on June 26, 2019.
 
Butler’s appointment followed a two-year stint as the program’s graduate assistant (2017-19). In that time, he helped the Mountaineers secure back-to-back runner-up finishes at the NCAA Championships (2018-19) and earned consecutive Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) regular-season and championship titles. Additionally, the Mountaineers compiled a perfect 26-0 record. 
 
With a shortened 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WVU’s final competition was at the 2020 GARC Championship, held in Memphis, Tennessee. The 2020 NCAA Rifle Championships were canceled for the 2019-20 season. 
 
At seasons end, eight shooters earned a combined 21 National Rifle Association (NRA) and College Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) All-America honors. It’s the first time WVU had over 20 All-America honors in one season since 2016.

The Mountaineers finished the regular season with a 9-1 mark, including a 7-1 league record, and completed the year ranked No. 3 nationally. 
 
Sarah Osborn completed the conference championships with the second-best combined score, earning 583 smallbore and 597 air rifle for an aggregate score of 1180. Osborn’s air rifle total was a personal best. 
 
The Mountaineers finished the regular season with a 9-1 mark, including a 7-1 league record, and completed the year ranked No. 3 nationally. 
 
In 2018-19, WVU finished second at the NCAA Championships at the WVU Coliseum with a 4692 mark. Butler played an instrumental role in helping the Mountaineers host the first-ever NCAA Championships in Morgantown, and a record two-day crowd of 2,215 fans were in attendance. 
 
WVU claimed its sixth consecutive GARC regular-season title that same season and also earned its 10th consecutive GARC Championship title. Ginny Thrasher successfully defended her air rifle title for the third consecutive season, while Morgan Phillips won the smallbore title. Additionally, Thrasher was named the GARC Shooter of the Year and Outstanding Senior.   
 
The Mountaineers finished the season at 13-0 (8-0 GARC), the team’s fourth consecutive undefeated season and fifth unblemished record in six years. 
 
With Butler’s help in 2017-18, the Mountaineers finished second at the NCAA Championships with a 4708 score and also won the air rifle title with a 2381 total. Phillips won her second consecutive NCAA smallbore title, becoming just the second WVU student-athlete to win back-to-back smallbore championships. 
 
WVU claimed its fifth consecutive GARC regular-season crown and won its ninth consecutive GARC Championship. Thrasher swept the GARC individual titles, and Elizabeth Gratz was named the GARC Outstanding Senior. 
 
The Mountaineers finished the 2017-18 season at 13-0 (9-0 GARC) and set NCAA records for aggregate score (4742) and smallbore score (2356) in a win at Murray State on Nov. 12, 2017. 
 
In his three seasons at WVU, Butler has coached 10 student-athletes to 47 All-America honors and had three earn Google Cloud Academic All-America accolades. Additionally, WVU has won four individual GARC titles, as well as four GARC postseason honors. 
 
A four-year letterwinner at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Butler was a two-time NRA All-American with the Nanooks. He shot at the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Championships, where he finished tied for eighth overall in smallbore (582) and air rifle (592). Butler also claimed the Patriot Rifle Conference Championship smallbore title as a senior, shooting a career-high 589.
 
The 2016-17 team co-captain and MVP, he won the Nanooks’ Joe Tremarello Sportsmanship Award in consecutive seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17). He finished his collegiate shooting career with highs of 594 air rifle and 589 smallbore. 
 
Butler earned his bachelor’s degree in general business from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in May 2016 and his Master’s of Business Administration M.B.A. in May 2017, also from UAF. He earned a master’s degree in sport management from West Virginia University in May 2019.