People like to call the CRC 7s tournament CRCs (See-Are-Sees), plural, not the CRC, and while that used to be a bit weird when it was one tournament, these days it makes much more sense—eight tournaments, four for men, four for women, and almost 300 games played over the weekend make it about as plural as you can get.
The four men's brackets wrapped up Saturday. Here's what happened.
Premier
Wheeling ran, passed, and most certainly tackled their way to a repeat of the CRC Men's Premier Title Saturday, once again getting an MVP-worthy performance from Shadreck Mandaza.
While we can talk about speed and elusiveness, and clearly Wheeling had all of that, they could also defend, and perhaps it was Mandaza's defensive efforts that made the difference in the final.
Against a very patient and well-organized St. Bonaventure team, Wheeling was able to stay controlled and made their tackles.
SBU did well, also, holding firm until Alex Nyamunda broke through the help the Cardinals to a 7-0 halftime lead.
As he had all tournament, Panashe Mugorogordi thundered through midway through the second half and that put two-score pressure on Bonnies. Mandaza's try just sealed it as Wheeling won 19-5.
Going 5-0, Wheeling allowed just seven tries, and never more than two in a game. Mandaza was spectacular, and the MVP, but his right-hand man had to be Mugurugordi, who was powerful and broke tackles, as opposed to Mandaza scampering around them. And don't forget Joseph Iye, who has been a leader for Wheeling for some years now and just does the hard work that needs to be done.
CRC 2025 All Tournament Team Selections:
Zak Banton, Notre Dame
Luca Halloway, Siena
Raphael Lansonneur, Brown
Shadreck Mandaza, Wheeling
Takudza Musingwini, Iowa Central CC
Manula Taula, St. Bonaventure
Agustin Yenaropulos, Queens
Queens edged Belmont Abbey 17-12 led by Hilton Olivier, who was their distributor and playmaker and field general. Abbey capped off a very good 7s season that included a win at the Rock Hill 7s and 4th at the CRC (two losses, 19-12 to Bonnies and 17-12 to Queens) led by a breakout performance from freshman Sam Patch.
Brown, beaten by Wheeling, ended up 4-1 with wins over Siena and Iowa Central for 5th. Kutztown also finished the tournament with just one loss. Beaten by Siena the Bears defeated Mary Washington and Clemson to take 9th (the Plate).
And then there's always the first-round losing team that runs the table to take 17th—it doesn't seem like much of a finish, but you have to win four in a row to get there. Fairfield was a mini St. Bonaventure (almost literally, they don't have a lot of big players) in that they played a smart, organized attack that didn't rely on pure athleticism but instead leveraged their rugby IQ and ability to change direction and pace using the ball. They beat Loyola, Drury, Walsh, and, in the Bowl Final, a tenacious Virginia Tech, to finish the season strong.
