Pictured at the Intercollegiate National Championships are (from left) Cadets Michael Schreiber ’28, Andrei Hipol ’28, Varick Nitzsche ’29, Kate Patrick ’27, Jamie Palacio ’27, and Chase Boucher ’27.
The spring 2026 season has been a whirlwind of activity for the VMI pistol club. Between a first-ever competitive pistol training clinic at VMI, a 10-week virtual air pistol league at VMI, the Intercollegiate Pistol National Championship in Missouri, and the National Junior Olympic Championships in Colorado, the team’s members have been busy honing their craft. The results were impressive: In the 12 formal matches held during the semester, the nine members of the team built on last semester’s efforts and achieved new personal records 30 times. Every member of the team achieved a new record in at least one of the three components of Olympic-style pistol shooting—air pistol, .22 cal standard pistol, and .22 cal sport pistol.
From Jan. 31–Feb. 1, 2026, the VMI pistol club learned the finer points of Olympic-style pistol shooting. The clinic was led by Jeff Williams ’93, a nationally recognized competitive shooter. During the weekend, the cadets received a master class in competitive pistol shooting techniques. The nine pistol club members spent 7 hours during the 2-day event, soaking up tips on shooting one perfect shot over and over and over again. The cadets also had the opportunity to put what they learned into practice by working with Williams while shooting air pistols in Kilbourne Hall’s indoor range.
The VMI pistol club competed in the 2026 Scopos National Air Pistol League, which is made up of 13 air pistol clubs from across the country. The virtual air pistol league consisted of a 10-week season that placed air pistol clubs from three conferences—Open Team, Junior Team, and Collegiate Team—into eight head-to-head matches. Each contest mirrored the Olympic 10-meter format with 60 shots over a 75-minute period scored in integer values, with team totals drawn from the top four athletes. The VMI pistol club finished the season with a 5-3 record. They ranked in sixth place in the overall league rankings and placed first in the Collegiate Team conference.
From March 25–28, 2026, the VMI pistol club competed in the 2025–26 Intercollegiate Pistol National Championship at the Missouri Marksmanship Education Center in Columbia, Missouri. VMI’s four-person team competed in all three Olympic-style collegiate disciplines (air pistol, .22 cal sport pistol, .22 cal standard pistol), ranking 10th overall with an aggregate score of 5,830. Two VMI team members were also invited to compete in the air pistol event as individuals. The match started with a .22 cal standard pistol event March 26. In that event, the VMI team ranked seventh in standard pistol against 10 other teams, shooting a season best of 1,909. On March 27, the VMI team competed in .22 cal sport pistol against the same 10 teams. During that event, the VMI team placed 10th, with a score of 1,873. Finally, on March 28, the match wrapped up with an air pistol event consisting of 12 teams and 94 individual shooters. In that event, the VMI team placed seventh. Additionally, one of the team members, Cadet Varick Nitzsche ’29, ranked 29th overall with a 534 score and was invited to compete in the “super final” individual event that day. In the overall scoring combining all events, Cadet Kate Patrick ’27 ranked 33rd, and Michael Schreiber ’28 ranked 44th out of 97 shooters.
The following cadets competed in the Intercollegiate Pistol Nationals:
Pictured at the Junior Olympic Championships are (from left) Cadets Jamie Palacio ’27, Michael Schreiber ’28, and Varick Nitzsche ’29.
Four members of the VMI Pistol Club were invited to participate in the National Junior Olympic Championships, based on the JO Pistol Qualifiers held at VMI in early December 2025. JOs is a selection match for the USA Junior National Team that participates in the Junior World Championships. This is the first time the VMI pistol club has participated in the JO Qualifiers and Championships. Three club members traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to compete in the event at the Olympic Training Center from April 15–18, 2026. All three competitors achieved personal records during the air pistol event. Of the 75 competitors in the men’s air pistol event, Cadet Varick Nitzsche ’29 ranked 23rd with 536 and 538 match scores, while Schreiber ’28 ranked 37th with 532 and 524 match scores. In the women’s air pistol event, Cadet Jamie Palacio ranked 41st out of 79 shooters with 522 and 520 match scores.
The following cadets were invited to JO Nationals:
