ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #7 Navy rifle team (15-4) continued its stellar season with another top-five performance. The Midshipmen registered an aggregate score of 4733 to top John Jay (7-9) on Saturday morning at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range, claiming the match 4733-4298.
The NCAA Qualifier Match accounts for 50 percent of each team's score toward qualification for the national tournament that is set to be hosted by the Ohio State University on March 13-14.
"Our team had a solid performance today for the NCAA Qualifier," head coach
Mike Anti said after the match. "We shot a few points over our season average and that's all I could ever ask out of them. We have had a great season and hopefully we have done enough to go to the NCAA Championships. The final announcement will be on Monday, but unofficially our chances look good.
"Isabella, Parker, and Tyler continued their stellar year by shooting the top three scores in both smallbore and air rifle.
Ryan Wee shot one of his highest scores this year in smallbore and
Grace Shepard fired a solid score in air rifle. Their performances were key to our competitive overall score."
Following the final home match of the season, the rifle team honored its five seniors –
Catherine Dely,
Parker Haydin,
Grace Shepard,
Devin Uhrich, and manager Max Buenahora – for their contributions to the program.
"In addition to shooting the qualifier, we also celebrated our senior class,
Catherine Dely,
Devin Uhrich, Max Buenahora,
Grace Shepard, and
Parker Haydin," added Anti. "They all had an amazing collegiate career and have contributed immensely to the overall success of our program. I was also very proud to present them with their fourth Star for defeating Army."
The Midshipmen opened the day with a smallbore tally of 2350, which tied for sixth-best in school history. Navy followed that performance with a 2383 in air rifle, tying for the fourth-highest total in the program's annals. The aggregate total of 4733 tied for the third-best in school history. Seven of the top 10 aggregate performances in program history have been registered this season.
Once again,
Tyler Wee,
Parker Haydin, and
Isabella Baldwin were top performers for the Midshipmen. Wee opened the day with a 590 in smallbore and fell one point shy of his fourth perfect score of the season, finishing with a 599 in air rifle for an 1189 aggregate score. Haydin shot an 1186 thanks to scores of 589 in smallbore and 597 in air rifle, while Baldwin posted scores of 586 in smallbore and 596 in air rifle for a combined score of 1182.
Ryan Wee shot a season-high score of 1176. He was two points shy of his career-best in smallbore, finishing with a 585. R. Wee was one point back of his season-high in air rifle, shooting a 591 in the final home match.
Senior
Devin Uhrich and
Grace Shepard followed with scores in the 1160s. Uhrich carded scores of 577 (SB) and 588 (AR) for an aggregate total of 1165, while Shepard followed with an 1161 after rounds of 570 (SB) and 591 (AR).
Senior team captain
Catherine Dely turned in a scorecard of 1157 in her final home match at the Academy. She posted scores of 573 (SB) and 584 (AR) for her aggregate total.
Chelsie Glover was one point back with an 1156 after rounds of 571 (SB) and 585 (AR).
Preston Everette closed out the home portion of his freshman season with an 1151. He shot a 568 in smallbore and matched a season-best total of 583 in air rifle. Fellow freshmen
Audrey Hart (561 SB; 585 AR; 1146 Agg.) and
Bennett Hilgenberg (550 SB; 582 AR; 1132 Agg.) closed out the scoring for the Midshipmen. Hilgenberg tied season-highs in smallbore and air rifle, while setting a new personal best in aggregate.
The Midshipmen will officially learn if they qualified for the NCAA Championship during the 2026 NC Rifle Selection Show that will air Monday, February 23 at 6:00 p.m. (ET) on NCAA.com. A link to the show will be on the front page of NCAA.com.
