NorCal and Colorado Down to the Wire in Girls U19 Great NW Challenge

06.15.2026HS Girls

NorCal vs Colorado in the Girls U19 bracket of the 2026 Great Northwest Challenge. Photo Alex Goff.

Powerful running in contact helped NorCal edge Colorado. Photo Alex Goff.

Author: Alex Goff

Northern California broke Washington's streak of championships, taking the Girls U19 championship at this weekend's Great Northwest Challenge in Bozeman, Mont.

NorCal produced a nifty combination of speed and power, along with plenty of physicality and patience on defense, to get the job done.

In the final, they needed all of that against a Colorado team of some significant talent.

In the opening meeting of these two teams on Saturday, they played to a 12-12 tie. Both teams got excellent work from their flyhalves, with NorCal skipper Georgia Brown and Colorado playmaker Esme Gates running their attacks.

Gates ran a more kick-oriented game and she was very good in marshaling her team, while hooker Jordyn Shannonhouse scored a key try against NorCal and was strong throughout.

Colorado edged Washington 14-7 and then beat a speedy and physical Utah side 21-10 to finish the round-robin at 2-0-1.

NorCal vs Washington 2026 GNC Photo Alex Goff

NorCal had to work hard to beat Utah 32-20 and then unleashed perhaps their best showing on Sunday morning, beating Washington 32-10.

"Especially in our first game I felt we were lacking a bit in our connection because we had never played together," said Brown after that win. "So just coming together as a team ... we did some dancing this morning ... chemistry on the team has been our biggest thing."

Center Kesaia Mataitonga scored two tries in that game. So NorCal was 2-0-1 as well.

Washington and Utah played for 3rd, with Utah winning 15-14 thanks in part to tries from Siulolovao Mataele and Alexis Hansen.

Utah on the run GNC 2026 Photo Alex Goff

In the final, it was just as close as the first meeting. Colorado scored a beautiful try early on a double loop and using their wings Emily Falcon and Lucille Seidel.

But Northern California held them out into halftime as both teams battled hard at the rucks, forcing turnovers.

"We just uplifted each other and listened to the coaches, that's all we did," said fullback Esther Valu. "And then we fought better."

In the second half, NorCal hit a period of positive play. They ran a long series of phases, going wide and then going vertical. Nothing broke things open, but they inched their way closer and closer. Then, inside the Colorado 22, flanker Sofia Singh took a hard line off a pass from scrumhalf Lillyrose Lennon, and powered very hard through a final tackle to score.

Colorado vs NorCal Girls GNC Final 2026. Photo Alex Goff

That was a classic power step and a key try for NorCal.

Prop Maura Kornak converted and NorCal had a 7-5 lead.

Back again soon thereafter, the Grizzlies kicked for territory, forced a mistake, and from there found themselves with a scrum in the Colorado 22.

That scrum resulted in a penalty, and NorCal tapped quickly, with Singh, once again, running with purpose. She got over, and Kornak converted again.

NorCal had not seen much ball at all in the Colorado attacking zone, and yet had two tries.

After that, Colorado dominated possession. They probed and tested and yet the Grizzlies held on. As time expired, the try came, but it was too late. NorCal's patience and work rate off the ball on defense had sealed.

Also in GNC's girls brackets, Montana defeated Toa 22-5 to win the final while Arizona showed well in a 17-0 shutout of Northern California to take 3rd.

Montana Girls vs Arizona 2026 GNC. Photo Alex Goff.

Montana opened up with a 29-5 loss to Toa but turned it right around after that, with Ellie Jessop and prop Wren Waliser leading the way. They won big over NorCal and Arizona before meeting Toa again with a new game plan.