Collegiate Precision: Four Shooters Hit Perfect Air Rifle Scores, Lake Sets WVU Smallbore Record

The first weekend of October witnessed exceptional marksmanship in collegiate competitive shooting, with four athletes achieving perfect 600 scores in air rifle matches and another setting a program record in smallbore. These performances collectively led to four identical 1195 aggregates topping the national leaderboard by Monday.

At West Point, New York, West Virginia’s Océanne Muller fired a perfect 600 in air rifle on Saturday, followed by her teammate Jennifer Kocher, who achieved her first career 600 on the same range Sunday. Concurrently in Columbus, Ohio, Navy’s Isabella Baldwin and Tyler Wee both recorded flawless air rifle scores in the same match. Navy believes this rare feat, of two teammates going perfect in the same match, has only occurred once before in NCAA history, also by Baldwin and Wee.

West Virginia senior Griffin Lake contributed another headline-worthy performance, firing a 598 in smallbore on Sunday. This score matches the second-highest in NCAA history and, according to the school, stands as the best mark ever achieved by a Mountaineer. NCAA smallbore involves 60 shots with a .22 rimfire rifle at 50 feet, with 20 shots each from kneeling, prone, and standing positions; Lake’s 598 indicates he dropped just two points across all three.

Lake paired his 598 smallbore with a 597 in air rifle for a 1195 aggregate, securing first place. This aggregate was one point higher than the 1194-101X that earned him the individual aggregate title and Most Outstanding Performer honors in March. His weekend showcased a tidy symmetry, with a 598 in each discipline, fired a day apart, as he also posted a 598 in air rifle against Army on Saturday.

Muller's perfect score against Army on Saturday anchored West Virginia’s 4750-4665 victory at the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center, marking their first Great America Rifle Conference win of the season. Her 595 in smallbore gave her a 1195 aggregate and the top individual score of the match. Muller has now gone clean in two of her three matches this season, opening the year on September 26 in Morgantown, West Virginia, with a 600-57X. No Mountaineer had previously posted perfect air rifle scores in consecutive matches, and only Niccolò Campriani, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, had two career 600s. Muller nearly added a third consecutive perfect score Sunday with a 599, bringing her air rifle total to 1799 out of a possible 1800 through three matches.

Kocher’s first career 600 on Sunday came as West Virginia defeated Norwich 4756-4375 and John Jay 4756-4329, extending the Mountaineers’ record to 4-0. Her performance also ensured West Virginia achieved a perfect air rifle score in three consecutive matches. She added a 592 in smallbore for a 1192 aggregate, matching Muller's total from the prior day.

These individual triumphs follow a competitive showing seven months prior at the NCAA Rifle Championship in March, where Lake, Muller, and Kocher each fired a 599 in air rifle. West Virginia tied the NCAA team record of 2395 en route to their 21st national title. Two of these athletes have since found the missing point for a perfect score.

Navy’s dual perfect scores by Baldwin and Wee occurred with a tiebreaker. Both shooters carded identical results at Ohio State’s Converse Hall: a 595 in smallbore, a 600 in air rifle, and a 1195 aggregate, each with 95 center shots. Wee secured first overall due to 38 smallbore centers compared to Baldwin’s 37, while Baldwin claimed the air rifle discipline with a 600-58X against Wee’s 600-57X. Both aggregates established new Navy program records, and both 595s tied the program’s smallbore mark. Navy Head Coach Mike Anti, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, credited the team’s approach, stating, “They come to practice ready to work every day and have the confidence to perform under pressure.”

These scores anchored the No. 8 Navy’s 4743 total on Sunday, sufficient to beat No. 3 TCU (4724) and host No. 14 Ohio State (4684). This team score was two points shy of Navy’s program record set last season. While TCU edged the Midshipmen in air rifle, 2385-2384, Navy's strong smallbore performance, with a 2359 (second in program history), secured their victory. Earlier on Saturday, Navy opened the weekend with a 4732-4674 win at No. 15 Akron, a match where Hannah Talbott contributed a personal-best 1192, including a 599 in air rifle.

West Virginia’s next match is scheduled for October 17 at Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Georgia. Navy will return home on October 25 to host Memphis and Mount Aloysius at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range in Annapolis, Maryland.