The 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship was full of great moments. Held at Ohio State’s Covelli Center on March 13-14, this year’s tournament saw West Virginia claim a record-setting 21st NCAA title, Ole Miss rise under first-year head coach and Olympic gold medalist Will Shaner, plus standout individual performances across both air rifle and smallbore.
Here are 15 of the best photos from the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship, in no particular order.
The WVU Mountaineers celebrate after winning their record 21st NCAA Rifle Championship title with a 4748-355X aggregate—the highest score at the NCAA championship since 1980.
Kentucky’s Braden Peiser takes aim during the air rifle final at Ohio State’s Covelli Center on Saturday. Peiser won the individual smallbore title on Friday and finished the championship with a 1190-86X aggregate.
Competitors line the range during Saturday’s air rifle session at Ohio State’s Covelli Center. Eight teams and 44 athletes competed across the two-day championship.
Ole Miss Rebel Audrey Gogniat competes in the air rifle final on Saturday. She rallied from a two-point deficit to defend her individual title with a 251.0 final score.
Nebraska Head Coach Richard Clark, the 2022 NRA Lones Wigger Iron Man Trophy winner, confers with Alivia Perkins during the first air rifle relay on Saturday. The Cornhuskers finished fifth in the team aggregate with 4736-318X.
WVU’s Océanne Muller enters the air rifle final on Saturday. Muller posted a 599-55X qualification score in air rifle, one of three 599 scores by West Virginia shooters on the day.
Kentucky’s Braden Peiser in the smallbore final on Friday, where he posted a 466.0 to win the individual title by 1.6 points in a showdown against Ole Miss rifle’s Audrey Gogniat.
Ole Miss celebrates its first-ever NCAA smallbore team title on the podium with first-year Head Coach Will Shaner, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist in men’s 10-meter air rifle. The Rebels posted a 2356-142X to edge TCU by two points.
TCU finished as the runner-up in the team aggregate (4741-354X) and claimed second place in both the air rifle and smallbore team standings.
The 2026 NCAA air rifle individual podium (from left): runner-up Katlyn Sullivan of Nebraska, champion Audrey Gogniat of Ole Miss and third-place finisher Griffin Lake of WVU.
The 2026 NCAA smallbore individual podium (from left): runner-up Audrey Gogniat of Ole Miss, champion Braden Peiser of Kentucky and third-place finisher Griffin Lake of WVU.
TCU’s Katie Zaun and Ole Miss’ Audrey Gogniat embrace after a hard-fought air rifle final on Saturday. Nebraska’s Katlyn Sullivan is on the left.
Kentucky’s Braden Peiser and West Virginia’s Griffin Lake shake hands after the smallbore final on Friday, with Ole Miss’ Audrey Gogniat on the left.
Competitors take position during the smallbore final on Friday at Ohio State’s Covelli Center.
West Virginia’s Griffin Lake, TCU’s Katie Zaun and Ole Miss’ Audrey Gogniat during the air rifle final on Saturday at Covelli Center.
