2026 NCAA Rifle Championships

2026 NCAA Rifle Championships
Season2025–26
Teams8
Finals siteCovelli Center
Columbus, Ohio
ChampionsWest Virginia (21st title)
Runner-upTCU (7th runner-up)
Winning coachJon Hammond (8th title)
Most Outstanding PerformerGriffin Lake (West Virginia)

The 2026 NCAA Rifle Championships was a tournament held to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rifle shooting champions for the 2025–26 season. The 46th annual edition of the championship was held on March 13 and 14, 2026, at the Covelli Center on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, United States.

West Virginia repeated as national champions, winning its 21st tournament with a 4748-point aggregate score. TCU finished second with 4741 points, marking the university's seventh runner-up finish in the NCAA championships. Ole Miss finished third with 4738 points, tying its best-ever finish in a national championship.

Griffin Lake of West Virginia was named the Most Outstanding Performer after finishing first in individual aggregate scoring, with 1,194 points. He finished second in the aggregate in both the smallbore and air rifle competitions, with 595 and 599 points, respectively. Braden Peiser of Kentucky won the individual smallbore competition with an NCAA record-tying aggregate of 596 points, while Audrey Gogniat won the individual air rifle competition with a perfect aggregate score of 600 points. Gogniat's win marked her second consecutive individual air rifle championship.

Bid selection

Teams were selected by averaging their three highest regular-season match aggregate scores and adding that value to their aggregate score at their designated NCAA qualifier event. The top eight teams would be selected to compete in the national championship. The NCAA hosted its selection show for rifle on February 23.[1]

Team qualifiers for the 2026 NCAA rifle championship
TeamAppearanceLast appearance
Alaska39th2025
Georgia Southern2nd2025
Kentucky31st2025
Navy30th2024
Nebraska21st2024
Ole Miss7th2025
TCU19th2025
West Virginia42nd2025

Five shooters each from the eight selected schools competed in the individual smallbore and air rifle events. Eight individuals from non-qualifying schools also qualified for the national championships based on their marks in their NCAA qualifier event. In the smallbore event, Addison Antweiler of Army, Katrina Demerle of Memphis, and Carlotta Salafia and Lea Soulé of Murray State qualified. In air rifle, Lily Wytko and Lily Martin of Air Force, Caroline Martin of Murray State, and Kameron Wells of UTEP qualified.[1]

Results

Smallbore

The 2026 championship was held at the Covelli Center on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio

Day one of the event, held on March 13 at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio, saw the smallbore competition take place. Braden Peiser of Kentucky had the top aggregate score in the qualifying round, a mark of 596, heading into the individual smallbore final. Peiser's 596 mark tied the NCAA Championships record for smallbore. Qualifying alongside Peiser for the final individual competition was Kentucky teammate Elizabeth Probst, Ole Miss shooters Audrey Gogniat and Gracie Dinh, West Virginia shooters Griffin Lake and Océanne Muller, TCU shooter Katie Zaun, and Nebraska shooter Emma Rhode.[2]

Peiser led for nearly all of the final. Dinh and Rhode were first eliminated, with scores of 405.9 and 406.3, respectively. Muller was next eliminated with a score of 419.9, good for a sixth-place finish. Zaun finished fifth, eliminated next with a score of 430.3, before Probst was eliminated with a score of 441.8 for a fourth-place finish. This left Peiser, Gogniat, and Lake as the podium field. Lake was next to be eliminated, and finished third with a score of 452.6, leaving Peiser and Gogniat as the final two remaining. After the shootout final, Peiser emerged as the winner, firing a mark of 466.0 in the final compared to Gogniat's 464.4.[2]

Individual smallbore final results
PlaceAthleteTeamQualifying scoreFinal score
1st place, gold medalist(s)Braden PeiserKentucky596466.0
2nd place, silver medalist(s)Audrey GogniatOle Miss592464.4
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Griffin LakeWest Virginia595452.6
4Elizabeth ProbstKentucky592441.8
5Katie ZaunTCU593430.3
6Océanne MullerWest Virginia592419.9
7Emma RhodeNebraska591406.3
8Gracie DinhOle Miss593405.9

As a team, Ole Miss emerged as the day one winner, with an aggregate score of 2356. TCU and Nebraska tied for second behind the Rebels, with 2354 points. TCU, however, had more centers than Nebraska, giving the Horned Frogs the second spot and the Cornhuskers third.[3][4]

Team smallbore results
PlaceTeamAggregate scoreCenters
1st place, gold medalist(s)Ole Miss2356142
2nd place, silver medalist(s)TCU2354147
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Nebraska2354128
4West Virginia2353144
5Kentucky2353131
6Navy2346126
7Georgia Southern2338118
8Alaska2334119

Air rifle

Audrey Gogniat of Ole Miss won the individual air rifle championship in 2026

Day two of the event, held on March 14 at the Covelli Center, saw the air rifle competition take place. At the end of the qualifying round, Ole Miss' Audrey Gogniat held the leading aggregate score, with a perfect 600 mark. The perfect mark was the fourth such score in her career, becoming the third person in NCAA history to record four perfect scores in air rifle competition. Also qualifying for the final were West Virginia shooters Griffin Lake, Océanne Muller, and Jennifer Kocher, TCU's Mikole Hogan and Katie Zaun, Nebraska's Katlyn Sullivan, and Georgia Southern's Tori Watts.[5]

In the air rifle final, first eliminated was Watts of Georgia Southern with a score of 122.7, good for eighth place. Kocher of West Virginia finished seventh with a score of 144.1. The pair of TCU shooters finished sixth and fifth- Zaun recorded a score of 166.2, while Hogan recorded a 187.3 mark. Muller of West Virginia finished fourth with 208.2, leaving fellow West Virginian Lake, Gogniat of Ole Miss, and Sullivan of Nebraska as the podium field.[5]

In the final three, Sullivan held the lead, while Lake held the second place spot. On the 22nd shot, however, Gogniat took over the second spot, which she held to advance to the shootout with Sullivan. Lake finished in third, with a score of 229.2. In the shootout, Sullivan led by as many as two points, but Gogniat came back to claim her second straight air rifle crown. Sullivan finished second with 249.9 points, while Gogniat won with 251.0.[5]

Individual air rifle final results
PlaceAthleteTeamQualifying scoreFinal score
1st place, gold medalist(s)Audrey GogniatOle Miss600251.0
2nd place, silver medalist(s)Katlyn SullivanNebraska599249.9
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Griffin LakeWest Virginia599229.2
4Océanne MullerWest Virginia599208.2
5Mikole HoganTCU598187.3
6Katie ZaunTCU598166.2
7Jennifer KocherWest Virginia599144.1
8Tori WattsGeorgia Southern598122.7

As a team, West Virginia finished first in aggregate scoring in air rifle. The Mountaineers' mark of 2395 tied the NCAA record for air rifle score. TCU finished second with 2387, while Kentucky finished third with 2383.[6]

Team air rifle results
PlaceTeamAggregate scoreCenters
1st place, gold medalist(s)West Virginia2395211
2nd place, silver medalist(s)TCU2387207
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Kentucky2383197
4Ole Miss2382197
5Nebraska2382190
6Alaska2380190
7Georgia Southern2379202
8Navy2376184

Final

Following the air rifle results, West Virginia emerged as the tournament's winner, reprising their finish in the 2025 edition with an aggregate score of 4748. The win marked an NCAA-record 21 tournament wins for the Mountaineers, and their eighth under head coach Jon Hammond.[7] TCU finished second with a 4741 score, marking the seventh runner-up finish in the Horned Frogs' history.[8] Ole Miss rounded out the podium in third place, with a score of 4738. The placement tied the Rebels' best-ever finish, having previously placed third in 2021.[9][10]

Kentucky and Nebraska finished tied with a score of 4736, however the Wildcats won fourth place due to their number of center shots being higher,[11] leaving the Cornhuskers in fifth.[12] Navy finished sixth with a score of 4722,[13] Georgia Southern in seventh with 4717,[14] and Alaska finished eighth with 4714.[15]

Team final results
PlaceTeamSmallbore aggregateAir rifle aggregateTotal aggregateCenters
1st place, gold medalist(s)West Virginia235323954748355
2nd place, silver medalist(s)TCU235423874741354
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Ole Miss235623824738339
4Kentucky235323834736328
5Nebraska235423824736318
6Navy234623764722310
7Georgia Southern233823794717320
8Alaska233423804714309

In the individual competition, Griffin Lake of West Virginia was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the championship, with an aggregate score of 1194 (595 in smallbore and 599 in air rifle).[16]

Individual shooter final results
PlaceAthleteTeamSmallbore aggregateAir rifle aggregateTotal aggregateCenters
1st place, gold medalist(s)Griffin LakeWest Virginia5955991194101
2nd place, silver medalist(s)Audrey GogniatOle Miss592600119295
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Katie ZaunTCU5935981191103
4Océanne MullerWest Virginia592599119192
5Elizabeth ProbstKentucky592598119089
6Braden PeiserKentucky596594119086
7Tyler WeeNavy591598118983
8Katlyn SullivanNebraska589599118890
9Mikole HoganTCU590598118886
10Gracie DinhOle Miss593594118787
11Lucie KissenbergerAlaska588598118684
12Emma RhodeNebraska591595118682
13Parker HaydinNavy590595118585
14Bremen ButlerGeorgia Southern588596118481
15Maddy MoyerNebraska589595118479
16Regan DiamondOle Miss588594118280
17Rylie PassmoreTCU585596118185
18Isabella BaldwinNavy585596118181
19Christina HillingerTCU586595118179
20 Emme Walrath Georgia Southern 587 593 1180 85
Jennifer Kocher West Virginia 581 599
22Sofia CeccarelloKentucky583597118083
23Marissa FedoraTCU585595118082
24Noah MeierottoAlaska582597117980
25Lauri SyrjaWest Virginia585594117979
26Tori WattsGeorgia Southern580598117875
27Camryn CampWest Virginia580598117868
28Jordan de JesusOle Miss583594117777
29Carley SeabrookeNebraska585592117772
30Teagan PerkowskiAlaska583593117675
31Sam AdkinsKentucky582594117670
32Emma PohlmannGeorgia Southern583592117579
33Alivia PerkinsNebraska574593116766
34Ryan WeeNavy580587116761
35Zahra Gonzalez MazoGeorgia Southern579587116653
36Susan CarterOle Miss580584116461
37Tobias Bernhoft-OsaAlaska570592116264
38Martin VossKentucky572586115861
39Catherine DelyNavy563575113851
–
Kameron WellsUTEP
–
59759751
–
Caroline MartinMurray State
–
59759747
–
Lily WytkoAir Force
–
59559548
–
Lea SouléMurray State589
–
58939
–
Lily MillerAir Force
–
58858838
–
Carlotta SalafiaMurray State586
–
58631
–
Katrina DemerleMemphis583
–
58332
–
Addison AntwilerArmy582
–
58231
–
Marshall SchmidtAlaska581
–
58126

References

  1. 1 2 "2026 National Collegiate men's and women's rifle selections". National Collegiate Athletic Association. February 23, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Parker, John (March 16, 2026). "Kentucky's Braden Peiser Surges to Win NCAA Smallbore Title". Shooting Sports USA. National Rifle Association of America. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Ole Miss takes team lead after Day 1 at the NCAA rifle championships". Associated Press. March 13, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  4. ↑ Parker, John (March 14, 2026). "Ole Miss Makes History at NCAA Rifle Championship, Leads After Day One in Columbus". Shooting Sports USA. National Rifle Association of America. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Parker, John (March 17, 2026). "Ole Miss Rifle's Audrey Gogniat Secures Second Consecutive NCAA Air Rifle Title". Shooting Sports USA. National Rifle Association of America. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Griffin Lake helps West Virginia set air rifle record, win program's 21st NCAA rifle championship". Associated Press. March 14, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  7. ↑ Stautzenbach, Ben (March 14, 2026). "WVU sets championship record and wins 21st national title". The Daily Athenaeum. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  8. ↑ "TCU Finishes As National Runner-Up". TCU Horned Frogs. Texas Christian University. March 14, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  9. ↑ Salers, Caleb (March 16, 2026). "Audrey Gogniat repeats as rifle national champion, Ole Miss earns team gold". Supertalk Mississippi. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  10. ↑ Eddins, Russ (March 18, 2026). "Ole Miss Rifle brings home the gold". The Daily Mississippian. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Rifle Finishes 2026 NCAA Championships in 4th Place". Kentucky Wildcats. University of Kentucky. March 14, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  12. ↑ Whitten, Logan (March 14, 2026). "Nebraska rifle takes fifth in NCAA championships". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Rifle Concludes Competition at 2026 NCAA Championship". Navy Midshipmen. U.S. Naval Academy. March 14, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Watts Makes Air Rifle Finals at NCAA Championship". Georgia Southern Eagles. Georgia Southern University. March 14, 2026. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  15. ↑ Pearsall, Nate (March 15, 2026). "Nanooks rifle conclude 2025-26 season at NCAA Championships". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  16. ↑ Kinder, Kevin (March 14, 2026). "WVU takes 21st NCAA Rifle national title with another second day rally". WV News. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
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