ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy rifle team (15-4) returns to action this weekend as the team travels to Columbus, Ohio to take part in the NCAA Championship hosted by Ohio State at the Covelli Center.
 
Action will get underway Friday at 9:00 a.m. with the smallbore competition, followed by a 9:00 a.m. start on Saturday for the air rifle portion of the championship. Free live video and free live results for both days of competition will be available via NavySports.com.
 
NCAA Championship History
Selection in the NCAA Championship marks the fifth time in the last eight seasons that the Midshipmen have qualified for the national championship. Navy, who has qualified for the NCAA Championship 31 times, will make its 30th appearance. The Midshipmen qualified as a team in 2020, but the championship was canceled due to COVID-19.
 
Navy's 30 appearances rank fifth in NCAA history behind West Virginia (42), Alaska Fairbanks (39), Murray State (36), and Kentucky (31).
 
Navy last earned a bid to the national championship field in 2024, finishing sixth overall after taking sixth in both smallbore and air rifle. The Midshipmen's best finishes at the national championship came in 1990 and 1999 after the Mids finished as the national runner ups.
 
Last season, then-senior Marleigh Duncan qualified as individual for the NCAA Championship in smallbore.
 
The Field
The top eight teams in both the smallbore and air rifle events were selected based on the average of the three highest regular-season aggregate scores with no more than one match at any given site. The average of the three highest scores was added to the aggregate scores from the designated qualifiers to determine the top eight teams – Alaska Fairbanks, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, Navy, Nebraska, Ole Miss, TCU, and West Virginia.
 
A total of 48 competitors will compete in the championships, with 40 competitors coming from the top eight teams selected. The remaining eight competitors were selected based on the scores submitted from the designated qualifier. Individual qualifiers for smallbore included Addison Antwiler (Army), Katrina Demerle (Memphis), Carlotta Salafia (Murray State), Lea Soulé (Murray State), while individual air rifle qualifiers were Lily Wytko (Air Force), Caroline Martin (Murray State), Lily Miller (Air Force), and Kameron Wells (UTEP). Alternates included Riley Dunn (Ohio State) and Alexander Pohlman (VMI) for smallbore with Abby Ballard (Murray State) and Carlee Valenta (UTEP) for air rifle.
 
Individual and team competitions in smallbore (60 shots) will be held Friday, March 13, and individual and team competitions in air rifle (60 shots) will be held Saturday, March 14. The overall team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team total scores into one aggregate score for each institution.
 
For more information about the 2026 NCAA Rifle Championship, visit ncaa.com.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy will send the group of junior Isabella Baldwin, senior team captain Catherine Dely, senior Parker Haydin, junior Ryan Wee, and freshman Tyler Wee to Columbus for the NCAA Championship.
 
This season, T. Wee led the team in all three disciplines. The rookie, who has posted three perfect 600s in air rifle this season, leads the way with an 1188.7 average in aggregate thanks to a team-best 590.0 in smallbore and a 598.7 in air rifle.
 
Haydin is one spot back of T. Wee in smallbore and aggregate, while coming in third on the team in air rifle. Haydin boasts an aggregate average of 1185.3. He has a smallbore tally of 589.1, while notching an average of 596.2 in air rifle.
 
Baldwin, who recorded her first perfect 600 in competition at The Citadel, is second in air rifle, while ranking third on the squad in smallbore and aggregate averages. She has a 587.3 in smallbore, while notching a 596.8 in air rifle for a combined average of 1184.1 in aggregate.
 
R. Wee is fourth on the team in smallbore and aggregate shooting. The older Wee brother is fourth in smallbore with an average score of 580.5, while coming in fourth on the team in aggregate scoring with an 1165.9. R. Wee has an average of 585.4 in air rifle.
 
Dely is in the top five for air rifle and aggregate. Dely is fourth in air rifle with a 589.1, while coming in fifth in aggregate with a score of 1163.1, and just outside of the top five in smallbore with a 574.0.
 
Last Time Out
The Navy rifle team completed competition in the 2026 Great America Rifle Conference (GARC) Championship on Sunday, March 1, placing third overall in the competition that was held at the Tronsrue Marksmanship Center in West Point, N.Y. Tyler Wee, Parker Haydin, and Isabella Baldwin each carded scores in the 1180s to lead the Midshipmen.
 
As a team, Navy finished with an aggregate score of 4729 to finish behind defending national champion and fourth-ranked West Virginia (4740) and top-ranked Kentucky (4730). The Mids finished ahead of match-host and #16 Army (4714), #12 Akron (4713), and #10 Memphis (4708).
 
The Midshipmen opened up the competition on Saturday with a smallbore score of 2353 to finish second in the discipline. In air rifle, Navy was third with a team score of 2376.
 
T. Wee led all Midshipmen, finishing his first GARC Championship with a team-best aggregate score of 1188. He finished with a team-high 98 centers during the two-day competition. Haydin was one point back with an 1187 aggregate total, notching 82 centers. Baldwin rounded out the Mids' top three with a two-day total of 1185 and 81 centers.
 
Four Mids followed shooting aggregate scores in the 1160s. Catherine Dely and Ryan Wee matched one another with an 1166 each. R. Wee served as a starter during smallbore, while Dely was a starter during the air rifle portion of the competition. Chelsie Glover posted an 1164, while Grace Shepard notched an 1160. Devin Uhrich was one point back of Shepard with an 1159 in his final GARC Championship.