No. 1 Kentucky rifle secured a victory against Georgia Southern and Morehead State in an NCAA qualifying tri-meet.

With the Wildcats performance, they have also earned themselves a place in the NCAA Rifle Championship, where they’ll seek to add to their storied history with a fifth national title.

Kentucky will look to right its wrongs from last year’s championship, where it fell just one point shy of West Virginia, who took home the title. The Cats also lost to West Virginia earlier this season in yet another close contest, and the path is paved for an additional matchup in the championship.

The Wildcats have always run into issues against the Mountaineers, who hold control over the all-time record between the schools at 25-13.

West Virginia made it into the championship as the No. 4 seed, while Kentucky secured the No. 1 seed.

In this match, however, it was sophomore Liz Probst who continued to impress, scoring her second perfect score in air rifle this season.

The achievement was performed in front of a capacity crowd at the UK Rifle Range, who all held a collective breath as Probst was getting closer to perfection.

“I’ve never seen that many people in a room be that quiet,” Head Coach Harry Mullins said.

Her total made her just the third person this season to notch multiple 600 scores in air rifle.

The performance also helped lead the Wildcats to a 4,744 team score, besting Morehead State’s 4,671, and Georgia Southern’s 4,720.

A large crowd was present for the last home match of the season, which included rifle alumni, members of the volleyball team, as well as fans and friends alike.

“It’s special. It’s special to be a part of Kentucky rifle, and it’s also very special to be a part of the University of Kentucky,” Mullins said when talking about the camaraderie of the community as a whole. “You guys, by showing your support, create that special.”

Mullins has been a part of the Kentucky rifle program since 1982. He arrived as a student athlete and after graduating in 1987 has been the head coach for a staggering 35 seasons.

Kentucky will now travel to West Point, New York to compete in the GARC conference championships. The Wildcats currently hold an impressive six conference championships, but will have to compete against some of the best teams in the world if they look to claim a seventh.

Three of the eight teams who qualified for the championship all come from the GARC conference.

Competition is set to begin on Feb. 28, and will conclude on March 1.