Skyhawks Soar Back into Action Against UAB This Saturday!

MARTIN, Tenn. – Just two weeks ahead of the 2025 Ohio Valley Rifle Championship, the University of Tennessee at Martin rifle teams are set to return to competition Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Skyhawk Rifle Range against UAB, following a nearly two-month break.

The fall season proved to be extremely fruitful for the Skyhawks, as they established new school records in all three scoring categories during the last three matches of the season. On Nov. 2, UT Martin shattered the school air rifle record at Morehead State, achieving a score of 2347. In their subsequent match, three weeks later at home, the Skyhawks set new program records for smallbore and aggregate scoring at 2327 and 4666, respectively.

Individually, freshman Sadie Palfrey established a new smallbore school record on Oct. 27 against Jacksonville State with a score of 587, placing her at the top of the record book after the score of 586 was achieved on five separate occasions by four different Skyhawks. Overall, in the fall season, seven out of eight Skyhawks achieved a total of 17 new career highs over nine matches.

On Oct. 11, Palfrey was just one point away from the school record in air rifle, scoring 596 against Akron. The current UT Martin air rifle record stands at 597, held by Dacotah Faught, who set the mark in 2014. Additionally, Palfrey also boasts the season high in aggregate scoring for UT Martin, having shot an 1180 twice against Akron and Jacksonville State.

In terms of averages, Palfrey leads the smallbore category at 581.4, followed closely by senior Alayna Walther at 580.0. Junior Joey Kovach heads into the final phase of the season with an average of 575.2, while freshman Liam Tegler trails closely at 574.6.

In the air rifle category, Palfrey again leads UT Martin with an average of 590.7, closely followed by freshman Aubrey Chenoweth at 588.3. Kovach ranks next for the Skyhawks at 581.2 with Walther at 579.6 and Tegler at 577.0.

For aggregate scoring, the Skyhawks are paced by Palfrey with an average of 1172.1, Walther at 1159.9, Kovach at 1156.4, and Chenoweth at 155.3. Currently, Tegler has an aggregate average of 1150.5, followed by senior Jesse Chamberlain at 1125.1, freshman Rachel Haines at 1119.1, and junior Jeffrey Bourassa at 1118.4.

The 2025 OVC Rifle Championships are scheduled for Feb. 1 at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range in Murray, Kentucky, organized by Murray State. This year’s championship will transition from its previous two-day format to a single-day event.