By Miya Cao, Staff Reporter
On Nov. 5, the boys’ and girls’ rugby teams played in the Fall Sevens State Championship in Lancaster. The boys took home first place with a season record of 28-2-1, and the girls secured third place with a season record of 9-14-1.
Founded in 2001, the girls’ rugby team has improved consistently and was the state runner-up in 2019. The team had trouble finding players after the COVID-19 pandemic, but due to increased recruiting efforts, it had a roster of 21 players this fall season. Junior Paulina Yang, who is in her fifth season of Conestoga rugby, noticed better team chemistry this season.
“Now that I’m an upperclassman, I’ve been trying to be nicer to the underclassmen and help them feel included. I think that’s really helped,” Yang said. “We all feel together, and it’s not like we’re split by grade levels.”
The girls went into the state championship as the third seed in the state. They played a competitive game against Doylestown High School in the semifinals but lost due to multiple players’ injuries.
The boys’ rugby team fell short in state championships in recent years. Two of the boys’ previous season losses were to the Hempfield High School rugby team, which they defeated in the finals this year to become the state champions. However, for the seniors on the team, this was not their first state victory.
“The senior class right now won states our freshman year. We’ve been solid this fall,” said senior and boys’ captain Caius Michlitsch. “Going into this year, we played a lot of selfish ball, and we weren’t playing to our strengths. As the year progressed, we really kind of grew into ourselves and just (improved as a) team.”
Boys assistant coach Brian Keown has a positive outlook for the upcoming developments during the spring season after a successful fall season.
“I’m looking forward to watching the guys transition. The game is totally different, longer and more physical,” Keown said. “But, we have a lot of big strong guys, and I think it’s only going to help us moving into the spring. I’m sure if you ask the guys, they are ready to win another championship.”
Miya Cao can be reached at [email protected].
