Clark Signs Two to 2026-27 Recruiting Class

Nebraska rifle head Coach Richard Clark announced that two athletes have signed to compete for the Husker rifle team in Makenzie Larson (Wellington, Colo.) and Kenly Downey (Clinton, Ill.). 

“We are extremely excited to welcome Makenzie and Kenly to our program,” Head Coach Richard Clark said “Both bring high level experience and talent that will be crucial to our programs growth and continued success over the coming years. We are looking forward to their arrival and the impact they will have on our program.”

Makenzie Larson

Larson attends Wellington Middle High School, and competes with American Legion Post 109, where she trains under head coach Justin Mick. In 2025, she earned a silver in the women’s 10m air rifle at both the USA Shooting Junior Olympics and the Junior CAT Games. Larson also grabbed gold medals in the air rifle at the 2025 H&N Cup and the Meyton Cup. She was on the ELEY High School All-American Air Rifle Team in 2023 and 2024, and won gold at the 2022 National Junior Olympic Championships in the smallbore. 

The daughter of Eric and Kerri Larson, Mackenzie plans to major in Animal Science at Nebraska.

Larson on Nebraska: “I chose Nebraska because it checked off boxes on what I was looking for in a school.”

Kenly Downey

Downey attends Le Roy High School, where she took first place in the smallbore at the 2025 ISRA Championships. In 2023, she grabbed second place in the air rifle and third place in the smallbore at the ISRA Championships. In 2024, Downey competed in the CMP State Championships and took first place in the air rifle. In 2022 and 2023, she grabbed second place in the CMP 2P National Championships, and in 2022 also earned second place at the USA Shooting National Junior Olympic 3P Championships. Downey qualified every year for the USA Shooting Junior Olympics, where she earned three first-place finishes and one second place finish. She also won first place in the NRA Junior National Conventional Championships, National Championships, and Sectional Championships. 

The daughter of Michael and Jessica Reich, Kenly plans to major in Advertising & Public Relations at Nebraska.

Downey on Nebraska: “I chose Nebraska because when I was deciding what school I’d like to attend, I didn’t quite know what I wanted to major in yet. I knew I wanted to do something in the graphic design and creative field, along with business communications and marketing. When I started looking further into Nebraska, I found the Advertising and Public Relations major, and it was truly everything I wanted in a major wrapped up into one. Since it already combined aspects of all those fields, it also allowed me to minor in finance like I wanted to. That was just from researching the college, but when I actually got to take my unofficial visit to Nebraska, everything was a hundred times better than I ever could have wished for, asked for, or even imagined wanting in a college. And that’s just talking about my major — when I got to see everything related to athletics, especially for the rifle team, it was above and beyond what I ever could’ve imagined a college offering to a student-athlete. It’s hard to even explain through an email how meaningful that experience was during my visit. Coming from a small town, big colleges always intimidated me — how far apart things were on campus and the large number of people in the surrounding city. But as soon as I landed in Lincoln, Nebraska, it felt like home. It felt safe, and it felt like the place where I’d be able to truly thrive.”