Akron senior Erin Schnupp made the trip to Lexington, Kentucky, in March to participate as an individual in smallbore at the 2025 NCAA rifle championship.
Even though the Akron rifle team narrowly missed the invitation cut-off for this year’s championship, Schnupp stepped up to the line as the last of the Schnupp legacy. Back in 2017, sister Sarah Schnupp transferred to Akron as a member of the rifle team. The following year, brother Patrick Schnupp came to Akron as a freshman. Patrick also attended the NCAA rifle championship in 2020.
The youngest of the Schnupp family, Erin started her athletic career in 2020, finishing up at this year’s NCAA rifle championship. What a run it has been for parents Kris and Joe Schnupp. For the past nine years, they have been avid supporters of the Akron rifle team in every way possible. Truly friends for life.
At the 2025 NCAA rifle championship, Erin fired on the last relay among the field of 44 smallbore contenders. Nearly shooting her season average, she tapped out a nice 582, a mark which ended up ranking her 19th overall. Let me remind you this makes Erin the No. 19 NCAA smallbore athlete in the United States.
The cut-off score for the finals ended up being a remarkable 589—meaning the top eight performers lined up one last time for the individual finals. Eventually, one by one, the finalists sat down until the last person standing was awarded the gold medal. This year, the honor went to Cecelia Ossi from Alaska-Fairbanks, marking the second time she has won the individual smallbore gold medal. The last time was in 2023, when the competition was held at Akron in Ohio.
END OF AN ERA FOR AKRON
This is also the time of the year we bid adieu to our graduating seniors. In addition to Erin Schnupp, the Akron rifle team is saying goodbye to four other shooters. See them below.
- Cory Stroupe after four years
- Rachel Engels after four years
- Lex Kirk after four years
- Gavin Perkowski after five years
- Erin Schnupp after five years
These five athletes have helped pull together a complete team of dedicated athletes who have a clear sense of what it takes to not only win on the ranges, but to succeed in the classroom as well as in life. The Akron rifle team this year has fired scores only imagined by previous teams and have raised the bar for future teams. What they have accomplished is nothing less than amazing. They will truly be missed.
As we wrap up the 2024-2025 season, it seems the fun never stops. As I send you this, we have two dedicated team members who accepted the invitation to participate in the National Junior Olympic Championships in Anniston, Alabama. Every year, each state conducts Junior Olympic tryouts to see who will be invited to the USA Shooting National Championships. Out of the thousands of entries, USA Shooting will select the best of the best for the prestigious invitation. This year, Akron juniors Rachael Paddock and Natalia Siek have been selected to attend the National Championship. Let’s all wish them the best as we watch the dots appear.
2025 NCAA SMALLBORE RIFLE INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 20
2025 NCAA RIFLE TEAM AGGREGATE CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD
You can see the full results of the 2025 NCAA rifle championship at ncaarifle.org.
Learn more about the Akron rifle team.
