No. 6 Georgia Southern Secures Sixth-Straight SoCon Smallbore Title

Day One: NCAA Scorecard

STATESBORO, GA – No. 6 Georgia Southern proved formidable once again at the 2026 SoCon Rifle Championship, winning its sixth-straight smallbore title at the GSU Shooting Sports Education Center.

All five Eagles’ sharpshooters advanced to the finals after a barrage of accuracy that resulted in a team score of 2,345 – eclipsing the previous SoCon Championship modern era smallbore record (since 2017) of 2,343 set two years ago by Georgia Southern in Charleston, SC.

Emma Walrath claimed the 2026 SoCon smallbore individual crown, powering to a score of 459.1 in the finals to become the fifth different Eagle to prevail in the past five seasons. Walrath’s dominant day included a score of 590 to pace the field in relay action. She also led the relays with 43 centers and was flawless in the prone position with a pair of perfect scores (100).

North Georgia finished second in the team smallbore competition, followed by UAB and the VMI women's team.

Walrath was joined in the finals by teammates Emma Pohlmann (588), Zahra Gonzalez Mazo (585), Bremen Butler (582), and Tori Watts (582). North Georgia’s Corbin Jockers (581) and Bri Walter (579), and VMI’s Soraya Sar (578) rounded out the finals. Butler (453.4) and Pohlmann (442.4) earned medals with strong finals performances, finishing second and third behind Walrath.

Georgia Southern is ranked sixth in the latest national poll, one of three SoCon programs ranked in the national top 20. North Georgia (18^th) and UAB (19^th) are also nationally ranked. Under head coach Soren Butler, Georgia Southern finished fifth at last year’s NCAA Division I Rifle Championship and were ranked as high as No. 2 nationally earlier this season.

The second day of the 2026 SoCon Rifle Championship gets underway Saturday with the first of three air rifle relays at 7:45 am. Finals are set for 1:35 pm.

2026 SoCon Rifle Championship Smallbore Team Scores

Total Points (Centers)

1. Georgia Southern - 2,345 (147)

2. North Georgia - 2,304 (105)

3. UAB - 2,282 (96)

4. VMI (W) - 2,253 (82)

5. VMI - 2,233 (73)

6. Wofford - 2,221 (75)

7. The Citadel - 2,221 (72)

8. The Citadel (W) - 2,175 (60)

2026 SoCon Rifle Championship Smallbore Individual Finals

1. – Emme Walrath, Georgia Southern (459.1)

2. – Breman Butler, Georgia Southern (453.4)

3. – Emma Pohlmann, Georgia Southern (442.4)

4. – Bri Walter, North Georgia (431.0)

5. – Zahra Gonzalez Mazo, Georgia Southern (418.7)

6. – Soraya Sar, VMI (403.6)

7. – Corbin Jockers, North Georgia (394.9)

8. – Tori Watts, Georgia Southern (387.5)