Kentucky Rifle nabbed its second straight win of the season Saturday, topping the Navy Midshipmen 4,707-4,701 in Annapolis, MD.
While the Wildcats won overall, it was the Midshipmen that took the early lead, claiming the smallbore discipline 2,336-2,329. Navy had three performers finish in the top four of the discipline, led by Isabella Baldwin’s 589-point tally. Marleigh Duncan took third with a 584, and Stephanie Milvain rounded out the top four with a 583.
It was the air rifle discipline that made the difference for Kentucky, with the top three finishers all being Wildcats. Kentucky was led by sophomore Sofia Ceccarello, who led all performers with a near-perfect 599 on her way to a 1,185 total aggregate. Saturday was Ceccarello’s second straight 599 and her 10th in 15 collegiate matches.
Behind Ceccarello was fifth-year senior Jaden Thompson, who took second in the discipline with a 595-point showing, one point off of her career best that she set in her last match. Braden Peiser took third with a 594 in his second ever collegiate match. Junior Allison Buesseler added a 590 to the Wildcat tally, the fourth Wildcat to score a 590 or better on Saturday.
“I was proud to see how we bounced back in air rifle after how things started in smallbore,” said Kentucky head coach Harry Mullins to UK Athletics. “This early in the season, it’s about learning, growing, and moving on to the next match. That is what we will do when we get back to Lexington.”
Following their 2-0 start, the Wildcats will return home this weekend for matches against Akron on Friday and Ole Miss on Sunday. Both matches will take place at the UK Rifle Range at Barker Hall at 8 a.m. ET. They will wrap up their home stretch on Nov. 11th vs. Memphis.
