COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 17 UTEP Rifle turned in a strong performance on Halloween weekend, placing second in a tri-match against No. 2 Murray State and host No. 12 Ohio State Saturday morning at Converse Hall.
The Miners registered a 4706 aggregate, finishing behind Murray State's match-winning 4725 while edging Ohio State's 4703.
UTEP posted a team score of 2328 in smallbore to finish second behind Murray State's 2347 and ahead of Ohio State's 2325. In air rifle, all three teams fired identical scores of 2378. Ohio State claimed the discipline based on centers with 188 X's, followed closely by UTEP with 187 and Murray State with 185.
Leading the way for the Miners was junior
Kameron Wells, who captured the individual aggregate title with an 1187.
Julia Czernik also earned a spot in the top 10, placing eighth overall with a 1175 aggregate.
Wells highlighted the day with a personal-best and school-record performance in smallbore, firing a 592-38X to finish first overall in the discipline. The mark surpassed the previous school record of 592-35X, set twice by former Miner
Carlee Valenta during the 2025-26 season.
Czernik paced UTEP in air rifle, shooting a 596-51X to place third overall.
Alessandra Cleveland and Wells also finished among the event's top five air rifle competitors. Cleveland recorded a personal-best 596-44X to place fourth, while Wells followed in fifth with a 595-48X.
Cleveland finished third among the Miners in aggregate scoring with a 1171.
Xan Keel and
Kennedy Wells each posted a 1169-65X aggregate, while
Paige Hildebrandt added a 1167.
Gracie Robinson shot a 1152 and
Molly Mitchell rounded out the lineup with a 1149.
| SMALLBORE |
AIR RIFLE |
Cleveland - 575-23x *
Czernik - 579-28x *
Hildebrandt - 578-23x
Keel - 579-25x *
Mitchell - 571-29x
Robinson - 566-15x
Ka. Wells - 592-38x * (school record)
Ke. Wells - 578-21x *
*counter |
Cleveland - 596-55x * (personal best)
Czernik - 596-51x *
Hildebrandt - 589-38x
Keel - 590-40x
Mitchell - 578-33x
Robinson - 586-44x *
Ka. Wells - 595-48x *
Ke. Wells - 591-44x *
*counter |
UP NEXT
UTEP will continue its stay in Columbus on Sunday, Nov. 1, when it takes on No. 2 Murray State, No. 18 VMI (mixed) and No. 20 VMI (women). Smallbore competition is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. MT (9 a.m. ET), followed by air rifle at 9:30 a.m. MT (11:30 a.m. ET).
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