BOULDER, Colo. – The top 24 boys and girls teams in the country will meet at Rio Tinto Stadium for the USA Rugby High School and Under-19 Championships in Sandy, Utah on May 21-23.
The tournament gets underway with a full day of Boys’ High School and Under-19 competition from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Friday, May 21, leading up to the championship matches on Saturday at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively. The Girls’ Under-19 contest commences early Saturday morning and culminates in the Championship match at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. (All times are local).
The Boys’ High School division features defending champion Sacramento’s Jesuit High School, which meets Southern California’s Fallbrook High School in its opening match. Also making the return trip to the Nationals this year are Charlotte Catholic High School (S.C.), Gonzaga College High School (Washington, D.C.), Xavier High School (N.Y.), and Brownsburg High School (Ind.). Rounding out the pool of teams include Westlake High School (Austin, Texas) and Snow Canyon (Utah).
Two-time winners of the Boys’ Under-19 Championship, which was a new division added to the Championships in 2008, are perennial favorites Highland Rugby. In the 24-year history of the USA Rugby High School championships, Highland has claimed an impressive 19 titles (17 in Boys’ High School and two in Under-19) and meets Union County (N.J.) in the first round.
The Westerville Worms (Ohio) return to the competition hoping to beat their third place finish in 2008 and start their championship bid versus the Katy Barbarians (Texas) on Friday morning. Making their first appearance in the Boys’ U-19 competition are Belmont Shore (Calif.), Alpharetta Phoenix (Ga.) and Downingtown RFC (Penn.) The U-19 Boys are still awaiting one competition, held this weekend, to determine its last Pacific Coast qualifier for this event.
For the second year in a row at the USA Rugby National Guard Girls’ U-19 Championships, Milwaukee’s Divine Savior Holy Angels (DSHA) knocked off Ohio’s Lakewood for the 2009 title. In 2010, DSHA returns, but Lakewood is replaced by Riverside Brookfield (Ill.) in the second seed. This year will see DSHA take on Washington’s Kent Team when the Girls’ U-19 contest kicks off on Saturday, while Brookfield will kick off its inaugural tournament appearance when it meets Portland (Maine).
The 2010 field of Girls’ U-19 competition will also see last year’s fourth place finisher Maryville (Tenn.) taking on Southern Cal’s Fallbrook, while last year’s seventh place finisher, the West Carroll Lady Marauders, face off against the 2009 third place finisher, Sacramento’s Amazons.
Tickets for this event can be purchased via the Rio Tinto Stadium’s website or at the gate. Adult admission is $10, students are $5 with ID, while children five and under are FREE (although they still need a ticket). General parking is $5/day and there is a $30 suite package available.
For more information on the USA Rugby Boys’ High School and Boys’ and Girls’ Under-19 Championships, visit www.usarugby.org/goto/Championships
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