Around the Nation in Girls HS 7s

09.28.2023HS Girls

Girls HS 7s rugby is happening around the nation and here's a look at some of the stuff that's been going on.

Colorado Interscholastic Rugby Association

Summit (no surprise) leads the league here midway through the season with a 9-0 record, having given up exactly three tries in those nine games. After that, it's a pretty competitive group with Denver East at 3-3, Summit Tigers (their younger side) 4-5, and Regis Jesuit and Monarch right behind. Regis and East are developing a nice rivalry with two games (both East wins) decided by a try or less.

Next up is the Regis Jesuit 7s.

Showing well are 2022 All-State players Ella Snyder (Summit), Tahna Wilfley (East), Hazel Pron (Regis), and Reagan Perez (East). Several others who were second-team all-state last year, such as Malina Goldstein (Monarch), Viola Koning (Summit), Ashley Misch (Summit), and Luci Walker (East) have been very good. But turning heads is Olivia Lyman (a Summit halfback who was a standout for the Hawkeyes U16s in their summer tournaments), who has been excellent. Koning leads the league in points scored with 57, but right behind her is Teagan Barth at 49 in her debut season.

Oregon

Chinook started the season 2-0 with wins over East County Grackles and Valley Panthers. These are no pushover teams but Chinook won those games quite comfortably.

After going into the 2022 season with mostly freshmen after the COVID shutdowns (which lasted longer in Oregon than they did in some other parts of the country), Chinook has built nicely.

"It was great to open the season with wins against Valley Panthers and East County Grackles who have dominated the league for the last two years," said Head Coach Lance Henwood. "They both have big squads, plenty of seniors, and are very well coached. It is only Round 1 and we know both these teams a very competitive, have good talented players and will come back strong this Saturday."

Seniors and co-captains Sofia Kurilenko (Battle Ground HS) and Emma Iniguez (Columbia River HS) have led well. Kurilenko is very quick and can accelerate through gaps in the midfield and she has a nice sidestep too. Iniguez is tall enough to play lock in 15s and she has good hands and good vision so she has moved to flyhalf in 7s. She leads the team in tries.

"We start this school year with a majority of the squad being juniors, and we finally go into a season with a full bench of reserves," said Henwood. "After two years of individuals new to rugby and learning the game, we start this year with a pack that is playing as a pack, and with amazing team spirit."

Iowa

Cedar Falls has started unbeaten in the Iowa HS Girls 7s league, as has SE Polk. For Cedar Falls, their backs are very impressive, with scrumhalf Grace Fober very difficult to defend. The attack kind of runs through her.

Mattie Dieken at center runs hard, tackles hard, and does a great job jackling in the breakdown. She leads the team in scoring with 71 points in four games(!). If somehow defenses contain those tewo, there's Avalon Burns at wing to burn you on the edge. And she is a strong defender at wing or as a sweeper.

Last week Cedar Falls won the rematch of the 2022 state championship, beating Waverly Shell Rock 26-5.

"This past week's match up was a well fought battle," said Cedar Falls Head Coach Brent Piper. "WSR did a great job in making tackles and does a great job controlling possession of the ball."

WSR, Cedar Falls and Southeast Polk seem to be the leaders so far. Polk plays the other two this coming Monday.

"Southeast Polk is always very disciplined and conditioned. They are dangerous from anywhere on the field," said Piper.

Ohio

Brunswick, Medina, and West Pitt all went 3-0 in the opening weekend of action. While West Pitt was perhaps the most dominant, all three have impressed and perhaps Brunswick's 24-5 win over Perrysburg being most notable, although West Pitt 26-0 over St. Joe's Academy was a pretty good result too.

Keep an eye on John Marshall HS, which is a relatively new program building something and fielding multiple sides now.

Indiana

Carmel, Westside, and Chargers look to be the ones to watch in the Hoosier State. Although with Noblesville making a splash this seems to be a pretty tight state competition so far.