Nick Lee, Delaney Whittet, Ryan Ulrich
Sports Editors
The Mira Costa rugby team competed in the Boys High School Rugby National Championships from May 18-21 in Charlotte North Carolina. The Mustangs placed seventh, winning one game and losing the other two.
On May 18th, the Mustangs took on the number one seeded team, the Gonzaga Eagels. Costa lost 32-10. According to junior inside center David Arredondo, they struggled because the other team had a lot of size compared to the Mustangs. The Eagles were able to utilize their height by combining their kicks with forward drives.
“As a whole, I believe that we played quite well,” wing sophomore Kaden Loversky said. “In the beginning we struggled a bit, however at the end we improved our game a lot.”
On the 19th, Costa took on the number two seed in the nation, the St. Edward Eagles. During the game the Mustangs lost 14-22. Junior outside center Justin Goring scored a try by driving into the outside try zone with Loversky’s help.
“I wish we could have communicated better and made better passes,” Loversky said. “ As a team I wish that we also would of followed our game plan more.”
In the final game they won to La Salette Lions of Illinois 22-14. Costa took the lead early 7-0 however the Lions bounced back scoring a try minutes later. With junior forward Jordan Fisher’s try and Loversky conversion the Mustangs gained the lead.
“During the tournament the Tavai brothers performance really stood out,” Loversky said. “were able to put up crucial points and okay well on defense.”
The Mustangs finished their season undefeated 9-0 and going 1-2 in the playoffs. Costa Rugby is now ranked 7th overall in the nation.
“Overall it was a great tournament for us,” junior scrum half Harrison Dulgarian said. “When playing against the best high school teams in the nation we were able to gain a lot of experience, and have a lot of fun games.”
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