A SHOT AT HISTORY: WOMEN’S RIFLE COMPETES IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN A PROGRAM FIRST.

In 2024, the Georgia Southern Women’s Rifle team fell short of qualifying for the national championship by one point. In the offseason, Head Coach Soren Butler and his athletes worked to flip the script.

And that’s exactly what they did. In March 2025, the Eagles Rifle team competed in the NCAA Rifle Championship, which took place in Lexington, Kentucky, for the first time in Eagle history.

Georgia Southern finished in fifth place and wrapped the season on a high after stellar performances from Emma Pohlmann, Tori Watts, Bremen Butler, Ella Goldfaden and Emma Walrath.

“I am so proud and excited about how far the program’s come in the last few years,” said Butler. “I know they’re capable of way more, and we also know we’re a really dangerous team.”

Butler and his athletes credit their achievements to high-caliber chemistry and a strong team dynamic.

“We had to focus on building a strong foundation for the freshman class,” Butler said. “But that year, we saw scores that were a little quicker than anticipated. We were like, ‘Hey, we have something big here.’” The team is built on more than just skill. Butler attributes the team’s continued rise to a combination of discipline, institutional investment and a coaching philosophy centered on mindfulness and growth.

“The biggest thing for us was having a university that has shown they care, and we have the people who are helping our team on a daily basis,” Butler said. “That’s made a huge difference, because not every rifle school gets that. We’re really lucky to have that.”

Prior to the national championship, the Eagles Rifle team won four straight Southern Conference championships from 2022 to 2025. For all events, it’s crucial for athletes to have a strong mindset to maintain peak performance, manage stress and build resilience after setbacks.

“As much as we want to say it’s scientific or quantitative, our sport is very qualitative,” he said. “We work with people. If they’re not doing well outside the range, there’s a pretty good chance we’re not going to have a good performance on the range.”

That’s why Butler and his team of coaches emphasize a scientific approach to the athletes’ mental game, and utilize sports psychological practices to keep athletes cool on bigger stages. Leading up to their voyage to Lexington, the coaches organized what is referred to as “distraction training” for the athletes so that they could focus on their shots and not be led astray by big screens and the comings and goings of spectators.

“You don’t really know how your body is going to react at that time and in that moment,” said Zahra Gonzalez-Mazo, a member of the Rifle team. “It’s good to simulate different experiences. We had been practicing the technique for the whole semester, and then we needed to focus more on how we perform with those distractions.”

Butler is immensely proud of the team and their work together. “It’s been a fun season,” he shared. “It’s been a lot of fun to work with a lot of really amazing young women. So I am really blessed and lucky to be able to do that.” —Jacob Notermann