The Illinois Tornados won the Boys Buckeye Invitational select side tournament in dramatic fashion Sunday, while the girls title was won by North Carolina.
The Boys bracket was made up of four teams so everyone played each other with the top two then playing a final. The Aviators went 3-0 while Illinois and Celtic Elite, both 1-1 after Day One, faced off to decide who would finish 2-1 and make the final. Th e Tornados held off the Elite 19-15.
In the final game, the Aviators led 11-5 with time almost up. The Tornados were pressuring the Ohio line and came very close to scoring on several occasions. Finally, from a penalty right in front of the posts the Tornados tapped andwere able to finally get it over. With the conversion, Illinois had won 12-11.
Saturday Scores from Buckeye Invitational
Boys Sunday Results
Ohio Aviators 28-0 North Carolina
Celtic Elite 15-19 Illinois Tornados
Celtic Elite 26-5 North Carolina
Ohio Aviators 11-12 Illinois Tornados
@RugbyIllinois Tornados win Buckeye Invitational on last second try and conversion! pic.twitter.com/NmlvLiwQyK
— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) June 19, 2023
