LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 14, 2025) – Senior Natalie Perrin and sophomore Griffin Lake each qualified for the smallbore final as West Virginia University sits in third place following the opening day of the 2025 NCAA Rifle Championships, hosted by Kentucky inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
After shooting an opening-day smallbore team score of 2350, WVU sits five points behind first-place Alaska Fairbanks, which scored a 2355 during the first day of action. Kentucky is also just ahead of the Mountaineers in second place after shooting a smallbore total of 2354.
Lake and Perrin’s performance highlighted the first day of competition, with Lake claiming sixth place and Perrin finishing eighth on the individual leaderboard. Lake fired a 420.3 in the final while hitting a mark of 591 in qualifying.
Perrin scored 407.2 in the finals and hit a career-high mark of 592 during the second relay. Her qualifying mark was the third-best in the championship field.
In the first of two smallbore relays, senior Gavin Barnick and sophomore Lauri Syrja and Lake opened the competition for WVU. Barnick scored a 585 and Syrja hit a 579. In the second relay, freshman Ashlyn Blake shot a 582.
On the overall team leaderboard, defending champion TCU is fourth after a 2335 smallbore score, while Ole Miss and Georgia Southern are tied for fifth at 2333. Murray State is seventh at 2322, followed by Air Force in eighth.
West Virginia concludes action at the 2025 NCAA Rifle Championships on Saturday, March 15, inside Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington.
Press release and photo courtesy of WVU Athletics.
