Friday, March 14
Lexington, KY
7 am MT
Air Force Academy
vs
NCAA Championships
Air Force prepares for 11th straight NCAA Rifle Championships
3/12/2025 1:05:00 PM | Rifle
This Week: The eighth-ranked Air Force rifle team will compete in the 2025 NCAA Rifle Championships, March 14-15, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky. The smallbore competition will be Friday, March 14, followed by air rifle competition on Saturday, March 15. Live scoring will be available at results.megalink.no
Here We Come Again: Under head coach Launi Meili, the Falcons will compete in the NCAA Championships for the 11th straight season. It is the 24th overall selection for the Falcon rifle team.
The Field: Air Force is joined in the NCAA Championship field this season by Alaska Fairbanks, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, Murray State, Ole Miss, TCU and West Virginia,
The Format: The competitive events for the 2025 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championships will be individual smallbore rifle three-position (60 shots) and air rifle (60 shots), with individual finals in each event, team smallbore rifle three-position and team air rifle. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team totals into one aggregate score for each institution.
Each team will consist of five individuals with the top four scores in each discipline counting toward the team score. All competitors who have qualified for the championships are eligible for the individual championships in each discipline. The relay format of the championships will place at least one competitor from each institution as counters on each relay in both smallbore and air rifle.
Top Falcons: Senior Lauren Hurley leads the team with an aggregate average of 1181.80, 20th in the nation. Freshman Lily Wytko is second on the team (1177.619), followed by junior Victoria Leppert (1176.067) and senior Scott Rockett (1173.534). Hurley leads the team in smallbore average (585.857) and air rifle average (596.067).
The Rankings: Air Force's aggregate season average of 4715.866 is the eighth-best in the nation. Alaska leads the nation with a 4744.462, followed by West Virginia (4743.0), Kentucky (4730.0) and TCU (4727.357).
Last Season at NCAAs: Last season, Air Force placed fifth at the 2024 NCAA Rifle Championships in Morgantown, W.V. The fifth-place finish matched the 2022 finish and tied as the best since the 2019 team placed third overall. The team's 4709 score last season was the second-best ever at the NCAA Championships. Air Force placed fifth in both air rifle (2376) and smallbore (2333). TCU won the NCAA team championship in 2024.
NCAA History: Air Force won the NCAA team air rifle championship in 2019. Air Force's highest team finish at the NCAAs came in 1995 and 1996 with a second-place finish. The 2019 team finished third overall.
The Individuals:
Senior Lauren Hurley: Team co-captain…Has earned All-America honors all three years and five All-America honors in her career…Last season, she earned second-team All-America honors in air rifle and smallbore and was third team in aggregate…Has shot a perfect score of 600 in air rifle twice in her career…This season, shot career-bests of 592 in smallbore and 1188 in aggregate against Nebraska/UTEP…Shot a season-high 599 in air rifle twice …Major is systems engineering and her first assignment will be as an aircraft maintenance officer.
Senior Scott Rockett: Team co-captain…Has earned All-America honors all three years and five All-America honors in his career…Won the NCAA air rifle championship as a freshman and was All-America in all three disciplines that season…Set career highs of 593 smallbore, 599 air rifle and 1190 aggregate as a freshman…This season, has season highs of 591 smallbore and 1184 aggregate at Alaska…Season-high air rifle of 595 at The Citadel…Major is quantitative economics...His first assignment will be going to pilot training.
Junior Victoria Leppert: Set career highs this season in smallbore (590 at TCU) and aggregate (1187 at NCAA Qualifier)…Season high air rifle of 598 was shot twice, including the NCAA Qualifier…Career-best air rifle or 599 came at the PRC Championships where she earned all-conference honors… Earned a gold medal in air rifle at the 2023 Junior Olympic Championships at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs ... The team's Student Athlete Council representative… Major is systems engineering human factors.
Sophomore William Steen: Set all new career highs this season with a 590 in smallbore at TCU, 593 air rifle at NCAA Qualifier and aggregate of 1175 at Ohio State/Alaska dual.
Sophomore Megan Torrence: Set new career highs in all events this season with a 582 smallbore against Kentucky/Akron, 595 air rifle against Nebraska/UTEP and aggregate 1174 against Kentucky/Akron…Competed in 13 events as a freshman…Major is management.
Freshman Bethany Butler: In her first season, posted career-highs of 593 in air rifle at the President's Trophy against Army and Navy…Set her career high in smallbore of 594 at The Citadel…Career-best aggregate of 1179 at the President's Trophy…older brother, Elijah, is also on the Air Force rifle team as a sophomore.
Freshman Lily Wytko: In her first collegiate meet, shot a 586-597-1183 at home against Nebraska and UTEP…Career-high smallbore of 588 against Kentucky/Akron…Career-best air rifle of 598 at the President's Trophy…Career-best aggregate of 1185 also against Kentucky/Akron, Nov. 24…Shot above 1180 eight times…Earned the gold medal at the 2024 Winter Air Gun Championships, in the junior air rifle division, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs…Also reached the finals in the Open (all ages) competition and placed sixth against several international and collegiate shooters.
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Here We Come Again: Under head coach Launi Meili, the Falcons will compete in the NCAA Championships for the 11th straight season. It is the 24th overall selection for the Falcon rifle team.
The Field: Air Force is joined in the NCAA Championship field this season by Alaska Fairbanks, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, Murray State, Ole Miss, TCU and West Virginia,
The Format: The competitive events for the 2025 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Rifle Championships will be individual smallbore rifle three-position (60 shots) and air rifle (60 shots), with individual finals in each event, team smallbore rifle three-position and team air rifle. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team totals into one aggregate score for each institution.
Each team will consist of five individuals with the top four scores in each discipline counting toward the team score. All competitors who have qualified for the championships are eligible for the individual championships in each discipline. The relay format of the championships will place at least one competitor from each institution as counters on each relay in both smallbore and air rifle.
Top Falcons: Senior Lauren Hurley leads the team with an aggregate average of 1181.80, 20th in the nation. Freshman Lily Wytko is second on the team (1177.619), followed by junior Victoria Leppert (1176.067) and senior Scott Rockett (1173.534). Hurley leads the team in smallbore average (585.857) and air rifle average (596.067).
The Rankings: Air Force's aggregate season average of 4715.866 is the eighth-best in the nation. Alaska leads the nation with a 4744.462, followed by West Virginia (4743.0), Kentucky (4730.0) and TCU (4727.357).
Last Season at NCAAs: Last season, Air Force placed fifth at the 2024 NCAA Rifle Championships in Morgantown, W.V. The fifth-place finish matched the 2022 finish and tied as the best since the 2019 team placed third overall. The team's 4709 score last season was the second-best ever at the NCAA Championships. Air Force placed fifth in both air rifle (2376) and smallbore (2333). TCU won the NCAA team championship in 2024.
NCAA History: Air Force won the NCAA team air rifle championship in 2019. Air Force's highest team finish at the NCAAs came in 1995 and 1996 with a second-place finish. The 2019 team finished third overall.
The Individuals:
Senior Lauren Hurley: Team co-captain…Has earned All-America honors all three years and five All-America honors in her career…Last season, she earned second-team All-America honors in air rifle and smallbore and was third team in aggregate…Has shot a perfect score of 600 in air rifle twice in her career…This season, shot career-bests of 592 in smallbore and 1188 in aggregate against Nebraska/UTEP…Shot a season-high 599 in air rifle twice …Major is systems engineering and her first assignment will be as an aircraft maintenance officer.
Senior Scott Rockett: Team co-captain…Has earned All-America honors all three years and five All-America honors in his career…Won the NCAA air rifle championship as a freshman and was All-America in all three disciplines that season…Set career highs of 593 smallbore, 599 air rifle and 1190 aggregate as a freshman…This season, has season highs of 591 smallbore and 1184 aggregate at Alaska…Season-high air rifle of 595 at The Citadel…Major is quantitative economics...His first assignment will be going to pilot training.
Junior Victoria Leppert: Set career highs this season in smallbore (590 at TCU) and aggregate (1187 at NCAA Qualifier)…Season high air rifle of 598 was shot twice, including the NCAA Qualifier…Career-best air rifle or 599 came at the PRC Championships where she earned all-conference honors… Earned a gold medal in air rifle at the 2023 Junior Olympic Championships at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs ... The team's Student Athlete Council representative… Major is systems engineering human factors.
Sophomore William Steen: Set all new career highs this season with a 590 in smallbore at TCU, 593 air rifle at NCAA Qualifier and aggregate of 1175 at Ohio State/Alaska dual.
Sophomore Megan Torrence: Set new career highs in all events this season with a 582 smallbore against Kentucky/Akron, 595 air rifle against Nebraska/UTEP and aggregate 1174 against Kentucky/Akron…Competed in 13 events as a freshman…Major is management.
Freshman Bethany Butler: In her first season, posted career-highs of 593 in air rifle at the President's Trophy against Army and Navy…Set her career high in smallbore of 594 at The Citadel…Career-best aggregate of 1179 at the President's Trophy…older brother, Elijah, is also on the Air Force rifle team as a sophomore.
Freshman Lily Wytko: In her first collegiate meet, shot a 586-597-1183 at home against Nebraska and UTEP…Career-high smallbore of 588 against Kentucky/Akron…Career-best air rifle of 598 at the President's Trophy…Career-best aggregate of 1185 also against Kentucky/Akron, Nov. 24…Shot above 1180 eight times…Earned the gold medal at the 2024 Winter Air Gun Championships, in the junior air rifle division, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs…Also reached the finals in the Open (all ages) competition and placed sixth against several international and collegiate shooters.
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Players Mentioned
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