Georgia Southern Cruises to 2024 SoCon Rifle Title

A pair of big scores in smallbore and air rifle helped propel the Georgia Southern women’s rifle team to the 2024 Southern Conference Rifle title at The Citadel’s Inouye Marksmanship Center.  It marks the first time in program history the team has swept all three titles and the 4,725 was also a SoCon Championship record.

After winning the smallbore title with a conference-record 2,343 on Saturday, the squad kept the pressure on with a record 2,382 in air rifle on Sunday and rolled past The Citadel by 107 points to claim their third-straight title. Additionally, sophomore Emma Pohlmann captured her second title of the weekend, winning the air rifle finals.

Pohlmann was named both the Smallbore and Air Rifle Athlete of the Year.

Addy Burrow was given the Pinnacle Award, given to the student-athlete on the championship shooting team with the highest cumulative GPA.

The Eagles cleaned up on all-conference honors as seven student-athletes accounted for 13 awards.

“I’m really happy with the team’s performance across the board,“said Coach Soren Butler. “I’m happy to send our seniors, Abby, and Kylie off with a great last match and I’m happy the freshman had a chance to finish on a match we can build from in the future. This team achieved and surpassed expectations on 99% of the goals we set as a team this year. I couldn’t be more proud of this team’s efforts and couldn’t be more thankful to work at Georgia Southern. It has been an incredible blessing and adventure to have been a part of the team this year.”

After a record-breaking season, the members of the Georgia Southern rifle coaching staff have been honored with the top honor in the sport. Soren Butler was named the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association (CRCA) Head Coach of the Year, and Abby Buesseler was named the CRCA Assistant Coach of the Year. It is the first honor for both coaches.

The squad was ranked as high as third in the country and finished as a top 10 team in the country, just missing the NCAA Championships. Four Eagles qualified as All-Americans with Emma Pohlmann winning SoCon Athlete of the Year in smallbore and air rifle while winning both individual titles.

Georgia Southern, coming off its third straight SoCon championship and a No. 9 final national ranking, welcomes back five returners for next year.