Saturday, February 1
Murray, Ky.
9:15 a.m.
UT Martin
vs
OVC Championships
Skyhawks Take Aim at 2025 OVC Championship
1/31/2025 11:41:00 AM | Rifle
MARTIN, Tenn. – On Saturday, the 18th-ranked University of Tennessee at Martin Rifle team looks to capture first the conference title in school history when they compete in the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Rifle Championship.
The championship will take place at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range in Murray Kentucky with smallbore beginning at 9:15 a.m., followed by air rifle at 1:15 p.m. At the event, UT Martin will face seventh-ranked Murray State and No. 17 Morehead State.
In their final tune-up before the championship, the Skyhawks defeated UAB, 4637-4547, two weeks ago at home. The Skyhawks fired a 2305 in smallbore to begin the day, then rounded out the match with 2332 in air rifle.
Sadie Palfrey led UT Martin across all three categories on the day with a 585 in smallbore and a 590 in air rifle for an aggregate score of 1175. Alayna Walther was next in line on both guns for the Skyhawks, firing a 581 in smallbore and a 585 in air rifle.
Heading into the championship match, the Skyhawks are averaging a 2311.7 in smallbore, a 2341.0 in air rife and a 4652.7 in aggregate scoring. UT Martin is currently second in the OVC in smallbore average and third in air rifle and aggregate averages.
The season, thus far, has been a successful one for the Skyhawks, as they set new school records across all three scoring categories during the year. On Nov. 2, UT Martin broke the school air rifle record at Morehead State, shooting a 2347. In their next match, three weeks later at home, the Skyhawks set new program marks for smallbore and aggregate scoring at 2327 and 4666, respectively.
Individually, freshman Sadie Palfrey set a new smallbore school record on Oct. 27 against Jacksonville State with a 587 and now sits alone atop the record book after 586 had been reached on five different occasions by four different Skyhawks. In total in the fall, seven of eight Skyhawks achieved a combined total of 17 new career-highs over the course of nine matches.
On Oct. 11, Palfrey came up just one point shy of the school record in air rifle by firing a 596 against Akron. The UT Martin air rifle record currently stands at 597 and is held by Dacotah Faught, who wet the mark in 2014. Palfrey also holds the season high in aggregate scoring for UT Martin, twice shooting an 1180 against Akron and Jacksonville State.
Average wise, Palfrey leads the way in smallbore at 581.8 and is followed closely by senior Alayna Walther at 580.4. Junior Joey Kovach enters the championship with an average of 574.5, while freshman Liam Tegeler and sophomore Aubrey Chenoweth follow at 574.2 and 566.7, respectively.
In air rifle, Palfrey again leads UT Martin with a 590.7 average with freshman Aubrey Chenoweth right behind at 587.6 Kovach is next in line for the Skyhawks at 580.4, while Walther follows at 580.1 and Tegeler comes in at 576.9.
For aggregate scoring, the Skyhawks are led by Palfrey at 1172.4, Walther at 1160.5, Kovach at 1154.9 and Chenoweth at 1554.3. Tegeler currently sports a 1150.1 aggregate average and followed by senior Jesse Chamberlain at 1124.8, freshman Rachel Haines at 1121.1 and junior Jeffrey Bourassa at 1120.8.
Following the championship, the Skyhawks will have three weeks to prepare for the annual NCAA Qualifier on Feb. 22, also hosted by Murray State.
The championship will take place at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range in Murray Kentucky with smallbore beginning at 9:15 a.m., followed by air rifle at 1:15 p.m. At the event, UT Martin will face seventh-ranked Murray State and No. 17 Morehead State.
In their final tune-up before the championship, the Skyhawks defeated UAB, 4637-4547, two weeks ago at home. The Skyhawks fired a 2305 in smallbore to begin the day, then rounded out the match with 2332 in air rifle.
Sadie Palfrey led UT Martin across all three categories on the day with a 585 in smallbore and a 590 in air rifle for an aggregate score of 1175. Alayna Walther was next in line on both guns for the Skyhawks, firing a 581 in smallbore and a 585 in air rifle.
Heading into the championship match, the Skyhawks are averaging a 2311.7 in smallbore, a 2341.0 in air rife and a 4652.7 in aggregate scoring. UT Martin is currently second in the OVC in smallbore average and third in air rifle and aggregate averages.
The season, thus far, has been a successful one for the Skyhawks, as they set new school records across all three scoring categories during the year. On Nov. 2, UT Martin broke the school air rifle record at Morehead State, shooting a 2347. In their next match, three weeks later at home, the Skyhawks set new program marks for smallbore and aggregate scoring at 2327 and 4666, respectively.
Individually, freshman Sadie Palfrey set a new smallbore school record on Oct. 27 against Jacksonville State with a 587 and now sits alone atop the record book after 586 had been reached on five different occasions by four different Skyhawks. In total in the fall, seven of eight Skyhawks achieved a combined total of 17 new career-highs over the course of nine matches.
On Oct. 11, Palfrey came up just one point shy of the school record in air rifle by firing a 596 against Akron. The UT Martin air rifle record currently stands at 597 and is held by Dacotah Faught, who wet the mark in 2014. Palfrey also holds the season high in aggregate scoring for UT Martin, twice shooting an 1180 against Akron and Jacksonville State.
Average wise, Palfrey leads the way in smallbore at 581.8 and is followed closely by senior Alayna Walther at 580.4. Junior Joey Kovach enters the championship with an average of 574.5, while freshman Liam Tegeler and sophomore Aubrey Chenoweth follow at 574.2 and 566.7, respectively.
In air rifle, Palfrey again leads UT Martin with a 590.7 average with freshman Aubrey Chenoweth right behind at 587.6 Kovach is next in line for the Skyhawks at 580.4, while Walther follows at 580.1 and Tegeler comes in at 576.9.
For aggregate scoring, the Skyhawks are led by Palfrey at 1172.4, Walther at 1160.5, Kovach at 1154.9 and Chenoweth at 1554.3. Tegeler currently sports a 1150.1 aggregate average and followed by senior Jesse Chamberlain at 1124.8, freshman Rachel Haines at 1121.1 and junior Jeffrey Bourassa at 1120.8.
Following the championship, the Skyhawks will have three weeks to prepare for the annual NCAA Qualifier on Feb. 22, also hosted by Murray State.
Players Mentioned
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