Kentucky came into their matchup on Saturday morning in Buell Armory sitting undefeated with a 3-0 record and sitting ranked No. 2 in the NCAA. Facing the Cats in the matchup was fellow Great American Rifle Conference member Ole Miss coming into the day with a 3-1 record and a No. 10 national ranking.

The Cats were able to defeat the Rebels 4698-4664 behind another record setting performance from freshman Henrik Larsen. It’s the Cats’ first top-10 victory of the season.

In the small bore round, Larsen tied the school record for scoring with a score of 595. Larsen previously own the school record, which he set in his first match as a Wildcat.

“I started the season by pushing myself to reach a score of 595 and I have done that 3 times in this season. I’ve broke the school record in small bore and I’ve tied the school record in air rifle. I’ve done all of this and haven’t been training that much because I’ve been focusing on school,” Larsen said after the match.

Larsen also led the Cats in air rifle with a score of 596. Other Cats that performed well were Junior Hanna Carr, who posted a score of 591, Cathryn Papasodora with a score of 590 and Jenna Bethea with 587.   

With freshmen like Larsen and leadership on the squad from veterans like Billy Azzinaro, Bethea and Carr, the foundation of the Kentucky Rifle team looks as strong as it has ever been.

Up next for the Cats is a one-week break, followed by a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado to face  Air Force, Ohio State and Nebraska.