SoCon Rifle Championship set for this weekend

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2025 Southern Conference Rifle Championships will be contested this weekend at the Shooting Sports Education Center in Statesboro, Georgia. Georgia Southern is the defending team champion.  

Smallbore competition will begin Saturday at 8 a.m., with the finals scheduled for 3 p.m. Air rifle follows on Sunday with the first relay at 7:45 a.m. and the finals scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. 

Georgia Southern has won three straight team championships. In 2024, the Eagles claimed their fourth straight smallbore title with a score of 2,343 and their first air rifle championship since 2017 with a score of 2,382 for a tournament-record aggregate score of 4,725.  

Georgia Southern’s Emma Pohlmann captured both the smallbore individual and air rifle individual title with scores of 461.5 and 247.1, respectively, en route to being named the SoCon Smallbore and Air Rifle Athlete of the Year. 

This year’s Georgia Southern squad is ranked No. 4 in the latest Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association poll. North Georgia and UAB also enter SoCon Championship weekend ranked No. 19 and No. 20, respectively.  

As a team, the Eagles lead the SoCon in smallbore (2,344.4), air rifle (2,382.333) and aggregate (4,727.9) this season. North Georgia follows closely in second place in both disciplines averaging a score of 2,2950 in smallbore, 2346.1 in air rifle. They are also second overall with an aggregate average of 4,641.1. 

GSU’s Emme Walrath has been dominant in both disciplines this season, as she leads the league in both categories and aggregate. The Kenosha, Wisconsin, product who earned SoCon smallbore and air rifle athlete of the month for October and November, averages 588 in smallbore and 597 in air rifle for a season average aggregate score of 1,184. The top-ranked freshman in the country, Walrath recorded school records in air rifle (599), smallbore (592) and aggregate score (1,191) this season. 

The NCAA Rifle Championship selection show will take place on Monday, February 24, with the Championships set for March 14 –15 at the Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky.  

Since Southern Conference rifle competition resumed in 2016-17, North Georgia (2017, 2018, 2021) and Georgia Southern (2022, 2023, 2024) are tied for the most SoCon Championship titles with three, while UAB has claimed two (2019 and 2020).  

2025 SoCon Championship schedule 

Saturday, February 8 – Smallbore 

7:45 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Preparation and sighting 

8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Small Bore Relay #1 

9:50 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Preparation and sighting 

10:05 a.m. – 11:35 a.m. Small Bore Relay #2 

12:05 p.m. – 12:20 p.m. Preparation and sighting 

12:20 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. Small Bore Relay #3 

2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Preparation and sighting 

3:00 p.m. Small Bore Finals 

Sunday, February 9 – Air rifle 

7:30 a.m. – 7:45 a.m. Preparation and sighting 

7:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Air Rifle Relay #1 

9:20 a.m. – 9:35 a.m. Preparation and sighting 

9:35 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. Air Rifle Relay #2 

11:10 a.m. – 11:25 a.m. Preparation and sighting 

11:25 a.m. – 12:40 p.m. Air Rifle Relay #3 

1:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Preparation and sighting 

2:00 p.m. Air Rifle Finals