Emme Walrath Claims SoCon Smallbore title
2/6/2026 5:51:00 PM | Women's Rifle
Eagles take sixth straight team crown
NCAA SCORECARD
STATESBORO - Behind a strong team effort across the board, the Georgia Southern rifle team posted a conference-record 2,345 in smallbore and sophomore Emme Walrath took gold in the individual on the opening day of the 2026 Southern Conference Rifle Championships, being held at the Shooting Sports Education Center.
In the qualifier, Walrath paced the Eagles with a 590 to place first, followed closely by Emma Pohlmann's 588 which took second place. Zahra Gonzalez Mazo posted a 585 to take third, and both Bremen Butler and Tori Watts shot 582 to tie for fourth to assure all five Eagles made the finals. The mark of 2,334 gave the Eagles their sixth straight conference smallbore title.
With their scores, all five advanced to the finals where the Eagles made up over half the field. In the finals, the Eagles dominated and finished 1-3 for the second year in a row. Watts, who was last year's champion, had some equipment issues in standing and fell down the leaderboard to place eighth, while Gonzalez Mazo placed fifth. Pohlmann, the 2024 champion, took the bronze and Butler took the silver. But it was Walrath who wouldn't be denied, pulling away late to post a 459.1 and win by 5.7 points and earn her first conference title.
It marks the fifth straight year a Georgia Southern athlete has won the smallbore as Erin Ballard won in 2022, Amy Visconti won in 2023, Pohlmann won in 2024 and Watts won last year.
The eight teams will compete in the air rifle discipline on Saturday and the two team scores will be added up to determine the 2026 SoCon Champs. The Eagles hold a 41-point lead going into Saturday's action.
THE SCORES
#6 Georgia Southern: 2,345 (2,345 smallbore)
#18 North Georgia: 2,304 (2,304 smallbore)
#19 UAB: 2,282 (2,282 smallbore)
VMI (W): 2,253 (2,253 smallbore)
VMI: 2,233 (2,233 smallbore)
Wofford: 2,221 (2,221 smallbore)
The Citadel: 2,221 (2,221 smallbore)
The Citadel (W): 2,175 (2,175 smallbore)
THE INDIVIDUALS (Alphabetical Order)
Bremen Butler
Junior - Fort Wayne, Ind.
Smallbore - 582 (4th; 2nd finals)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Zahra Gonzalez Mazon
Junior - Logroño, Spain
Smallbore - 585 (3rd; 5th in finals)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Emma Pohlmann
Senior - Nentershausen, Germany
Smallbore - 588 (2nd; 3rd in finals)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Hailey Singleton
Sophomore - Bellevue, Ohio
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Emme Walrath
Sophomore - Kenosha, Wis.
Smallbore - 590 (1st; SoCon Champion)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Tori Watts
Senior - Folsom, Calif.
Smallbore - 582 (5th; 8th in finals)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
STATESBORO - Behind a strong team effort across the board, the Georgia Southern rifle team posted a conference-record 2,345 in smallbore and sophomore Emme Walrath took gold in the individual on the opening day of the 2026 Southern Conference Rifle Championships, being held at the Shooting Sports Education Center.
In the qualifier, Walrath paced the Eagles with a 590 to place first, followed closely by Emma Pohlmann's 588 which took second place. Zahra Gonzalez Mazo posted a 585 to take third, and both Bremen Butler and Tori Watts shot 582 to tie for fourth to assure all five Eagles made the finals. The mark of 2,334 gave the Eagles their sixth straight conference smallbore title.
With their scores, all five advanced to the finals where the Eagles made up over half the field. In the finals, the Eagles dominated and finished 1-3 for the second year in a row. Watts, who was last year's champion, had some equipment issues in standing and fell down the leaderboard to place eighth, while Gonzalez Mazo placed fifth. Pohlmann, the 2024 champion, took the bronze and Butler took the silver. But it was Walrath who wouldn't be denied, pulling away late to post a 459.1 and win by 5.7 points and earn her first conference title.
It marks the fifth straight year a Georgia Southern athlete has won the smallbore as Erin Ballard won in 2022, Amy Visconti won in 2023, Pohlmann won in 2024 and Watts won last year.
The eight teams will compete in the air rifle discipline on Saturday and the two team scores will be added up to determine the 2026 SoCon Champs. The Eagles hold a 41-point lead going into Saturday's action.
THE SCORES
#6 Georgia Southern: 2,345 (2,345 smallbore)
#18 North Georgia: 2,304 (2,304 smallbore)
#19 UAB: 2,282 (2,282 smallbore)
VMI (W): 2,253 (2,253 smallbore)
VMI: 2,233 (2,233 smallbore)
Wofford: 2,221 (2,221 smallbore)
The Citadel: 2,221 (2,221 smallbore)
The Citadel (W): 2,175 (2,175 smallbore)
THE INDIVIDUALS (Alphabetical Order)
Bremen Butler
Junior - Fort Wayne, Ind.
Smallbore - 582 (4th; 2nd finals)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Zahra Gonzalez Mazon
Junior - Logroño, Spain
Smallbore - 585 (3rd; 5th in finals)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Emma Pohlmann
Senior - Nentershausen, Germany
Smallbore - 588 (2nd; 3rd in finals)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Hailey Singleton
Sophomore - Bellevue, Ohio
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Emme Walrath
Sophomore - Kenosha, Wis.
Smallbore - 590 (1st; SoCon Champion)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Tori Watts
Senior - Folsom, Calif.
Smallbore - 582 (5th; 8th in finals)
Air Rifle - Saturday
Aggregate - Saturday
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Rifle
/ Women's Rifle
/ Women's Rifle
/ Women's Rifle
/ Women's Rifle
/ Women's Rifle
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