Inside Look at Girls Olympic Squad
Inside Look at Girls Olympic Squad
Tess Feury, Atlantis Rugby
There’s so much rugby going on right now, and this Sunday, three USA women’s teams will be competing in, or preparing for, international competitions: Senior national team plays for 5th in the world against New Zealand; Junior All Americans convene in Buffalo in advance of the Can-Am series; and the U.S. Youth Olympic Team will kick off its 7s campaign in China. That’s a lot of players to track, so we compiled short bios for the WJAAs (read more) and the Youth Olympic Team below:
Tess Feury (5'6", 140 lbs)
Birthday: March 15, 1996 (18)
Hometown: Denville, N.J.
School: Villa Walsh Academy (Morristown, N.J.), Class of 2014
A former Aircraft Charter Systems Player of the Week (read more), Feury has been attending USA 7s camps at the Chula Vista OTC since last summer, and as such, has been named captain. She keeps her 7s skills sharp with the New Jersey Blaze (along with Kat Ramage), which won the CRC 7s girls high school bracket in June. Feury graduated high school last spring, leading her school with 12 varsity letters over her career, and will now be attending Penn State in the fall.
Haley Langan (6'0", 165 lbs)
Birthday: June 22, 1996 (18)
Hometown: South Burlington, Vt.
School: Rice Memorial High School (South Burlington), Class of 2014
Langan was one of two high schoolers (the other three were recent grads) who competed for the USA Women Junior All Americans in last year’s U20 Nations Cup, where the team finished second. Typically a lock, Langan is by far the tallest player on the squad, but her background in soccer and track & field ensures that she’s physically suited for 7s. Langan graduated high school in the spring and will attend Harvard College, which enters its second year as a varsity rugby program, in the fall.
Appau Mailau (5'7", 162 lbs)
Birthday: October 17, 1996 (17)
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
School: Cyprus High School (Magna, Utah), Class of 2015
Mailau comes from a great U19 program – the Vipers in Utah – and three of her teammates are playing with the WJAAs in the Can-Am series. The now-senior in high school is a gifted athlete, playing basketball, volleyball and track & field, and it showed as much as a Utah All-Star.
Michel Navarro (5'5", 147 lbs)
Birthday: March 13, 1997 (17)
Hometown: Fallbrook, Calif.
School: Fallbrook High School, Class of 2016
Navarro may only be a high school junior, but the Fallbrook student has a ton of high-level experience, which began when she joined the Warriors as an 8th grader. She has four national championship medals to her credit, and this year, she diversified her game by moving from fullback/wing to flanker. Fleet footed and hard-nosed, those qualities were on full display during her time with the Serevi Selects at the LVI 7s last winter, and the talent identifiers have kept an eye on her ever since.
Dana Olsen (5'3", 128 lbs)
Birthday: February 2, 1996 (18)
Hometown: Fort Collins, Colo.
School: Ridgeview Classical Schools (Fort Collins), Class of 2014
Four of the players in China have history with the Atlantis 7s program, and Olsen is among them. She played on the first-ever Atlantis U19 squad in Las Vegas, reaching the final against British Columbia. The buzz on Olsen began to spread as she was cherry-picked from a Serevi High Performance Training Camp and invited to a summer residency program as well as USA 7s training at the Chula Vista OTC. Olsen will be heading to varsity program Lindenwood University in the fall.
Tiffany Person (5'8", 135 lbs)
Birthday: September 20, 1996 (17)
Hometown: Alexandria, Va.
School: TC Williams High School (Alexandria), Class of 2014
Person is an Atlantis alum as well, but the recent high school grad competed at the Tobago International 7s tournament in December 2013. Person has a diverse athletic background, playing wide receiver on the boys’ football team, wrestling and running track & field. Person has been accepted to Penn State.
Emily Prentice (5'7", 135)
Birthday: August 21, 1997 (16)
Hometown: Kent, Wash.
School: Lakeside School (Seattle), Class of 2016
Prentice has risen through the ranks quickly, and the tutelage of Kent coach Rex Norris is partially to credit. A former swimmer, Prentice plays loose forward in 15s but proved she had a penchant for 7s while playing for the Serevi Selects in Las Vegas. Most recently, the high school junior won the Spirit Award at the High School All American Stars & Stripes camp.
Kat Ramage (5'4", 146 lbs)
Birthday: March 4, 1997 (17)
Hometown: Ledgewood, N.J.
School: Roxbury High School (Succasunna, N.J.), Class of 2015
The high school senior is a soccer crossover but just committed to rugby this year. Playing alongside Feury for the New Jersey Blaze, Ramage’s foot not only comes in handy for conversions but she’s also shown a penchant for 7s. Atlantis took notice and added her to the first-ever U19 team that finished second at the LVI. She also made the High School All American team this year.
Becca Jane Rosko (5'3", 117 lbs)
Birthday: November 22, 1997 (16)
Hometown: Dillon, Colo.
School: Summit High School (Breckenridge, Colo.), Class of 2016
Rosko is one of the youngest players on the squad as she enters her junior year at Summit, a top-ranked high school program, but she’s already banked some big international 7s appearances. After booting up with Atlantis in Las Vegas, she joined the Tiger Cub team that won the Cancun 7s this summer, playing alongside USA 7s veterans and contracted athletes.
Richelle Stephens (5'7", 135 lbs)
Birthday: July 22, 1996 (18)
Hometown: Fallbrook, Calif.
School: Fallbrook High School, Class of 2015
Stephens has been on the 7s scene for a couple of years now, and she’s arguably the best high school flyhalf in the game. She leads Fallbrook, the four-time reigning high school champion, and is a regular at the USA 7s camps at the Chula Vista OTC. A HSAA, Stephens was voted Most Valuable Back for the Warriors this year.
Danielle Walko-Siua (5'0", 125 lbs)
Birthday: May 17, 1996 (18)
Hometown: Hilo, Hawaii
School: Waiakea High School, Class of 2014
Tiny and feisty, Walko-Suia attended the 2013 HSAA Stars & Stripes camp and was later invited to a USA 7s camp. Her soccer background comes in handy around the park, and she was recognized locally as the 2013 Hawaii State Championship MVP before stepping onto the international stage.
Whitney Wilson (5'4", 127 lbs)
Birthday: November 13, 1996 (17)
Hometown: Kingwood, Texas
School: Kingwood High School, Class of 2015
Meya Bizer isn’t the only youth star to come out of Texas; Wilson is following in her footsteps and making a name for herself, too. Also with a soccer background, the high school senior has banked numerous all-state and regional all-tournament nods, and she’s been the high scorer in the Texas high school league from 2012-14.
Universal Sports and NBC Olympics announced (read more) that it will broadcasting 54.5 hours of the Youth Olympics Games; however, a schedule of coverage has not been released.
