A big weekend awaits in girls high school rugby, as the Midwest Championship is poised to play out in Elkhart, Ind. Division I will bring some of the region’s best teams together, while Division II allows up-and-coming teams to share in the competitive weekend.

Leading the DI field are perennial finalists Divine Savior Holy Angels and Catholic Memorial from Wisconsin. The Dashers have played a couple of warm-up matches, downing Plainfield (Ill.) and Brookfield (Wis.) in their traditionally dominating fashion. DSHA is ranked #2 in the nation, and watch for senior standouts like center Maggie Brennan and prop Taylor Bragg-Brock (who recently signed with Lindenwood for fall 2015) to lead the way to the title bout.

The Crusaders beat Brookfield as well, but the team did run into some trouble against Plainfield last week. It was an abbreviated game, and Catholic Memorial was hurt by some injured starters, so the team could be a little under-staffed this weekend. Plainfield has won the three previous Illinois state titles, and they’re feeling good about this year’s team. Is an upset in store? Read more here.

Two more state champs join the field: Minnesota’ Armstrong and Ohio’s St. Joseph’s. The former is sporting a large freshmen class, but they’re athletic and eager, and have paired nicely with a core of experienced players like Renee Gonzalez, Sonetta Williams, and Kristin Tanner. Armstrong is coming off two big wins – 109-0 vs. Rogers and 111-0 vs. Edina.

St. Joseph’s has been sticking to its winning ways as well, with its most significant victory coming against Lakewood last week. Lakewood has welcomed back Andre Bruwer to the coaching fold, and the former state champion is rebuilding its ranks and competing in the Festival bracket this weekend. When the two met a week ago, St. Joe’s won 27-5. Ohio will have some extra representation in Hudson, which lost 20-5 to Lakewood in the teams’ season-opener, but has rallied for three-straight wins since then.

Host state Indiana will also have two teams in Division I, but is missing a key participant. Nine-time state champion North Central is prohibited from competing on Sundays, so the team will not play in the Midwest Championship. In fact, that restriction means the team rarely competes above the state level. Instead, state runner-up Warsaw will do well to represent the state, as will Penn. The pair are pretty even, but Penn came through with an 18-15 win over Warsaw last week.

To recap, below is the DI field for the Midwest Championship:

Armstrong (Minn.)
Catholic Memorial (Wis.)
Divine Savior Holy Angels (Wis.)
Hudson (Ohio)
Penn (Ind.)
Plainfield (Ill.)
St. Joseph’s (Ohio)
Warsaw (Ind.)

Stay tuned for weekend results.