COLUMBUS, Ohio — Braden Peiser entered the smallbore final as the top-ranked qualifier. He left it as a national champion.
The Kentucky Wildcat posted a 466.0 in the final to win the individual smallbore title at the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship at Ohio State’s Covelli Center on Friday, March 13, clearing Ole Miss rifle team shooter Audrey Gogniat by 1.6 points in a contest that wasn’t decided until the closing shots.
Going into the smallbore final, Peiser was the top-ranked shooter in the field with a qualifying score of 596-37X—tying the NCAA Championship record in the discipline. He dropped two points each in both kneeling stages but was perfect across prone and standing.
In the final, Peiser was competing against his Kentucky teammate Elizabeth Probst, Audrey Gogniat and Gracie Dinh of Ole Miss, Griffin Lake and Océanne Muller of WVU, Katie Zaun of TCU and Emma Rhode of Nebraska.
Peiser maintained a dominant lead throughout the final. After five shooters were eliminated, it came down to Peiser, Gogniat and Lake. Lake exited first with 452.6 to claim third place. Gogniat and Peiser battled for the top spot, but it was Peiser who pulled away to finish with 466.0, while Gogniat’s 464.4 earned her the runner-up position.
After posting a 594-49X in Saturday’s air rifle competition, Peiser finished the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship with a 1190-86X aggregate, placing him sixth overall—just three Xs behind Kentucky teammate Elizabeth Probst in fifth.
Gogniat would go on to win the individual air rifle title on Saturday with a thrilling comeback in the final, meaning Peiser’s smallbore victory was the only thing standing between her and a sweep of both individual discipline championships.
2026 NCAA RIFLE CHAMPIONSHIP SMALLBORE INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
| Rank | Name | Team | Qual. Score | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braden Peiser | Kentucky | 596-37X | 466.0 |
| 2 | Audrey Gogniat | Ole Miss | 592-41X | 464.4 |
| 3 | Griffin Lake | WVU | 595-44X | 452.6 |
| 4 | Elizabeth Probst | Kentucky | 592-37X | 441.8 |
| 5 | Katie Zaun | TCU | 593-48X | 430.3 |
| 6 | Océanne Muller | WVU | 592-37X | 419.9 |
| 7 | Emma Rhode | Nebraska | 591-33X | 406.3 |
| 8 | Gracie Dinh | Ole Miss | 593-37X | 405.9 |
As a team, Kentucky finished fourth in the aggregate championship with a 4736-328X. The Wildcats also claimed third in team air rifle with 2383-197X, fueled by strong performances from Peiser, Probst (598-52X) and Sofia Ceccarello (597-53X).
The fourth-place finish caps a memorable 38th season for Kentucky under Head Coach Harry Mullins. The Wildcats qualified for the NCAA Rifle Championship as the top overall seed after tying and setting the NCAA record for aggregate team score, becoming the first program in history to break 4760.
See the full results of the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship at ncaarifle.org.
