MORGANTOWN, WV — Océanne Muller delivered a perfect 600-57X in air rifle, an individual performance that proved decisive in securing the top aggregate score during West Virginia University’s season opener at the WVU Shell Building. Her flawless card contributed significantly to the Mountaineers’ 4737-4587 victory over Mount Aloysius, kicking off their campaign for a third straight NCAA championship.
Muller's perfect score was not just a statistical anomaly; it was essential. She fired six consecutive 100-point strings in air rifle. This remarkable feat placed her in a three-way tie for the highest individual aggregate score at 1186 alongside senior Griffin Lake and junior Jennifer Kocher. The tie-breaker came down to centers, where Muller's 94 X-counts edged out Lake's 93 and Kocher's 89. Muller also contributed a 586-37X in smallbore. She now joins an elite group as the 12th Mountaineer to achieve a perfect 600 in the air rifle discipline, a mark Lake himself reached last season. Lake led the field in smallbore with a 590-43X, bolstered by three consecutive 100-point strings across his second kneeling and both prone positions.
Jennifer Kocher was equally formidable, delivering a near-perfect 598-50X in air rifle, which included four consecutive 100-point strings. She added a 588-39X in smallbore. The consistency displayed by Muller, Lake, and Kocher echoed their performances six months prior in Columbus, Ohio, where each fired a 599 in the air rifle round that propelled WVU to its 21st NCAA championship.
West Virginia’s overall team aggregate reached 4737-353X, comprised of 2351-149X in smallbore and 2386-204X in air rifle. Coach Jon Hammond’s five-person scoring team for the opener included Lake, Muller, Kocher, sophomore Jack Ogoreuc, and junior Jacob Wisman. Ogoreuc finished fourth overall with an 1179-77X (587-30X smallbore, 592-47X air rifle), while Wisman posted an 1178-71X, finishing just one point behind Ogoreuc.
The depth of the Mountaineer roster was evident in the scores that did not even factor into the team aggregate. Senior Lauri Syrja’s 588-35X in smallbore matched Kocher's for the second-best score of the day in that discipline, while junior Ashlyn Blake’s 595-46X was the fourth-best air rifle score, yet neither was on the primary scoring team. This robust performance resulted in West Virginia claiming nine of the top 10 individual aggregates.
Freshman Karlie Lynn made a strong collegiate debut, placing seventh overall with an 1177-74X (584-29X smallbore, 593-45X air rifle). Lynn represented the United States at the ISSF Junior World Championships this past summer, as did sophomore Hana Strakusek for Slovenia, who finished 10th at 1165-59X.
Mount Aloysius, a Division III program, demonstrated significant improvement under coach Siarra Crum, posting a 4587 aggregate (2270 smallbore, 2317 air rifle). This score was 51 points higher than their previous best against WVU, recorded at last November’s WVU Fall Classic. Kayla Trinkle, the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Rifle Conference Athlete of the Year, was the only non-Mountaineer to break into the top 10, placing ninth with an 1168-65X, highlighted by a 583-26X smallbore card that included 100-point strings in both kneeling and prone. Molly Miller matched Trinkle's 585 in air rifle. The presence of Pennsylvanians among WVU's top finishers, including Lynn, Lake, and Ogoreuc, adds a local dimension given Mount Aloysius's role as the only NCAA rifle program in the state for 2024.
West Virginia now prepares for Great America Rifle Conference play, beginning October 3 at Army’s Tronsrue Marksmanship Center in West Point, New York, followed by matches against Norwich and John Jay on October 4. Their first encounter with a team from the 2026 NCAA Championship is scheduled for October 17-18 at Georgia Southern, a program coached by former WVU assistant Soren Butler. Statesboro, Georgia, is also slated to host the 2027 NCAA Championship on March 12-13.
