For the second time this season, all four of Kenmore Rugby's teams were in action. On Saturday, the middle schoolers played the penultimate weekend of their 7s series, heading to Syracuse. On Sunday, the high school boys hosted pod matches against Orchard Park and Grand Island, while the girls traveled to Corning for some 7s rugby.
It was an up and down day for the middle schoolers, who battled through some adversity to play some good rugby. The boys beat McQuaid, tied with Grand Island, and lost to Syracuse. Randy Schaus scored five tries, and Sean Krawczyk added three. The girls also went 1-1-1 on the day, playing a combined Fairport/Syracuse team each time. Natalie Marzullo had a hat trick, Briella Macleod added two and Sophie O'Connor scored her first middle school try. The 5th and 6th grade boys went 0-1-1, highlighted by Parker Bernosky-Smith's first try of the season.
"It was a tough day for us. We took some shots and had to keep our mindset right early on. I think we did a good job of that and it really pushed us to come together as a team." - Kenmore Rugby MS Asst. Coach James Greene
The high school boys lost their matches against Orchard Park and Grand Island. In classic Kenmore fashion, several players had strong individual performances, and the team continued to show growth. Michel Greene scored two tries, and Jacob Nice added one of his own. Aiden O'Malley added a conversion. It's been a down year in the standings, but that hasn't affected the team's spirits.
"We've been talking all year about what success looks like, and how it goes beyond the wins and losses. Our boys have grown as rugby players, and as people this season. To me, that's a rousing success, and something to hang our hats on." - Kenmore Rugby HS Boys Asst. Coach Mark Miskovski
The girls headed to Corning for a 7s series. Corning started off strong in game 1 making several line breaks and holding Kenmore scoreless. The girls did not let this get them down, and played much closer in Games 2 and 3. Despite several tries in each match, the girls fell short, losing both. They finally broke through in Game 4, winning 24-20 with Maddy Greene's two conversions being the difference, ending the day 1-3. Throughout the day, Kenmore had 6 of their 10 players score tries. Leading the way were Greene, Marleigh Szymendera, and Rosie Miller touching down two each, while Maddie O'Malley, Victoria Westfall and Aislyn O’Malley added one apiece.
This week is a light one for the club. The middle school teams are off, before wrapping up their season on June 1st. The high school boys are also off this weekend, in preparation for a mid-week clash with Canisius on the 29th. The high school girls are off to Le Moyne College on Sunday for the 7s championship! They will face off with City Honors and Corning to determine final seeding, with a 3rd match to follow. Good luck girls!
Founded in 2004, the Kenmore Rugby Club is WNY's oldest and largest youth & high school rugby club with over 100 active players in grades K-12.
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