GRR: HS Girls
The Gator 7s in San Clemente, Calif., marked the second stop on the SoCal Serevi Cup summer 7s series. The Fallbrook U18 girls entered the tournament in first place, having won the Encinitas 7s on June 27. The Warriors received some push-back from Fullerton during the series-opener, but three weeks of training saw Fallbrook extend the distance between itself and the field.
There was a bit of a delay in Kat Ramage’s correspondence, for which she ardently apologized. She had taken a 20-hour trip to Little Rock, Ark., to start her eight-week residency at the American Rugby Pro Training Center (ARPTC), trained for a few days, and then traveled to the Cancun 7s as part of Tiger Rugby.
For the girls, the Stars & Stripes camp has taken on new meaning in its third year of existence. In 2013 and 2014, the assembly introduced the high performance lifestyle to the top high school talent, but it didn’t serve as a selection camp.
It was time for an all-star 7s event for girls high schools, and Wisconsin took that first step by hosting the Midwest All Star 7s Invitational last weekend in Cottage Grove, Wisc. Four teams from Wisconsin (2), Minnesota, and Iowa convened at the Wisconsin Rugby Sports Complex, and solid competition ensured that none of the matches were decided by more than two scores.
Kelsie McDowell has enjoyed an exciting 2015 thus far. First, the Southeast Polk girls high school coach was named head coach of Simpson College’s first women’s rugby program. Second, Simpson College qualified for the NSCRO 7s national championship last May and represented the region in West Point, N.Y.