COLUMBUS, Ohio -- On Saturday, the Mount Aloysius Rifle team competed in the program's first-ever match, when they traveled to Ohio State. While the Mounties ultimately fell to the Buckeyes, they established all new program records and became the newest NCAA Rifle team to compete.

"It was pretty exciting," said Head Coach Siarra Crum. "Once we got over some of the nerves, I was really proud of our performance for our first match. It was a really good experience for our women and we're just hoping to continue to improve as the season goes on."

Mount Aloysius produced scores of 2,224 in smallbore and 2,244 in air rifle, combining for a a total of 4,468. Ohio State scored a total of 4,711.

Kayla Trinkle (Zionsville, Pa. / Southern Lehigh) was the Mounties' best shooter in both guns. She finished with a score of 568 in smallbore and 581 in air rifle, totaling 1,149. With it being the first competition, she now holds the school record in all categories.

Two other Mounties reached scores over 1,100, in addition to Trinkle. Elissa Barron (Hooversville, Pa. / North Star) finished with 562 in smallbore and 577 in air rifle, while Sydney Castel (Portage, Pa. / Portage) produced 550-plus scores with both guns.

Their first competition also got some recognition on social media from prominent figures in the Rifle community. United States Olympians, Virginia "Ginny" Thrasher and Lucas Kozeniesky, both shared information on their Instagram pages. Thrasher was a Gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics in ten meter air rifle. She shared a post from the Mount Aloysius Rifle Instagram page and shared their excitement for the team's first match. Kozeniesky competed in both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, earning a Silver medal in 2020. He shared a post from College Rifle Central, welcoming the Mounties to NCAA Rifle.

Mount Aloysius is scheduled to head to Akron, this coming weekend, to take on the Zips.