No. 2 Ole Miss Rifle Wraps Up Fall Slate at West Virginia Fall Classic

The second-ranked Ole Miss rifle team concluded the fall portion of its collegiate schedule this weekend by competing in the prestigious West Virginia Fall Classic in Morgantown. The two-day tournament brought together several of the nation's premier shooting programs for an intensive showcase ahead of the winter hiatus. For the Rebels, the visit marked their final competitive outing of the calendar year against top-tier national opponents.

Hosted by top-ranked West Virginia, the invitational served as an early preview of postseason competition in an elite multi-team setting. The event functioned as a critical measuring stick for every program in attendance, offering an atmosphere that closely mirrored NCAA championship conditions. Both coaches and shooters treated the weekend as a rigorous test of endurance and poise across consecutive days of competition.

The competitive field in Morgantown was composed entirely of programs that reached the previous NCAA National Championship. Alongside host No. 1 West Virginia and No. 2 Ole Miss, the five-team lineup featured No. 6 Kentucky, No. 8 TCU, and No. 12 Nebraska. With all five squads ranked inside the national top 15, the event delivered one of the most concentrated collections of collegiate rifle talent this season.

The tournament utilized a standard championship progression designed to test competitors across both collegiate disciplines. Action opened on Saturday with smallbore competition, requiring shooters to demonstrate precision across prone, standing, and kneeling positions. The classic concluded on Sunday with air rifle competition, followed by individual finals to determine the top overall performers.

Ole Miss entered the Morgantown invitational holding an unblemished 8-0 record across its dual and multi-team matches this season. The Rebels traveled north carrying significant momentum after delivering record-setting air rifle team totals in early November. Maintaining that level of performance against an expanded field of national contenders presented an ideal challenge to close out the fall slate.

Under the leadership of head coach Will Shaner, Ole Miss showcased a roster blending elite international experience with reliable depth. The Rebels' lineup featured Olympic medalist Audrey Gogniat, alongside key contributors Jordan de Jesus, Gracie Dinh, and Kamdyn McFarland. Their collective depth has been a defining strength for the squad, providing high baseline scoring in both individual disciplines.

The weekend also marked an important initial encounter between Ole Miss and longtime league adversary Kentucky, whom the Rebels had not faced earlier in the campaign. Going head-to-head with the Wildcats provided crucial insight into Great America Rifle Conference standings. These direct head-to-head meetings offer teams valuable head-to-head metrics that factor into national qualification calculations later in the year.

Midseason tournaments like the Fall Classic carry substantial weight for programs striving to sustain momentum across the two-month winter pause. Facing four other nationally ranked contenders under structured tournament rules yields detailed data on technical execution and discipline under pressure. The results allow coaching staffs to diagnose technical tendencies and refine shot routines before high-stakes spring qualifiers arrive.

Following the completion of the weekend matches in West Virginia, collegiate rifle programs will enter an extended training window before returning to action in early 2027. Ole Miss will use the upcoming break to assess its performances and prepare for the second half of its campaign. The Rebels will then set their sights on conference title contention and securing a top seed at the NCAA Championships.