Ole Miss Wins First NCAA Smallbore Rifle Team Title

Columbus, Ohio — The Ole Miss Rebels rifle team captured its first NCAA smallbore team championship at the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship, posting a winning score of 2356-142X at Ohio State’s Covelli Center on Friday, March 13.

This marks the first time in Ole Miss program history that the Rebels have won a team championship in either discipline at the NCAA rifle championship.

Audrey Gogniat competes in the smallbore final at the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, Mar. 13, finishing as runner-up. Her smallbore qualification score of 592-41X helped Ole Miss earn its first NCAA smallbore team title. (Photo by Bailey Urbach)

In its debut season under Head Coach Will Shaner—an Olympic gold medalist and 11-time All-American—Ole Miss put together an impressive 10-2 campaign, including a 5-2 mark in Patriot Rifle Conference competition. Going into this year’s NCAA Championship, the Rebels were ranked fifth.

Ole Miss was led by standout performances from two sophomores: Gracie Dinh and Audrey Gogniat. Dinh posted a score of 593-37X to finish fourth individually in smallbore, while Gogniat followed closely with 592-41X, placing fifth.

Both shooters advanced to the smallbore final, where Gogniat delivered a strong showing to finish as runner-up, falling just short to Kentucky junior Braden Peiser, 466.0 to 464.4.

Gogniat continued her standout weekend in air rifle, firing a perfect 600 in qualification before rallying in the final to claim the individual national title, her second consecutive victory in the discipline. She finished second overall in the individual aggregate standings with a combined score of 1192-95X. Dinh also placed among the nation’s best, finishing 10th in the aggregate with 1187-87X.

Ole Miss sophomore Gracie Dinh competes in the smallbore final at the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, Mar. 13. While she was the first shooter to exit the final with 405.9, she walked away from her smallbore relay with a 593-37X qualification score. (Photo by Bailey Urbach)

By the conclusion of the championship on Saturday, the Ole Miss rifle team stood on the podium twice, once as smallbore national champions and again with a third-place finish in the overall team aggregate behind WVU and TCU.

TCU finished second in the smallbore team standings with 2354-147X, led by senior Katie Zaun’s 593-48X performance. Nebraska placed third, with senior Emma Rhode pacing the Huskers with a score of 591-33X.

The Ole Miss rifle team stands center podium after winning the smallbore title at the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship at Ohio State’s Covelli Center. Flanking the Rebels are runner-up TCU (left) and third place Nebraska. (Photo by John Parker)

2026 NCAA SMALLBORE RIFLE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD

You can see the full results of the 2026 NCAA rifle championship at ncaarifle.org.