Photos courtesy Corcoran’s Photos. See More. •
In its fourth year of existence, Des Moines East’s girls high school 7s team won the Iowa 7s state championship last weekend. It was a satisfying surge for a program that actively upped its profile within its high school this year. The effort was a combination between founding members and second-year head coach Nick Sawhill, a Des Moines East alum.
In addition to helping the boys’ team, Sawhill spent two years as the girls’ assistant coach before assuming the head coaching role last fall.
“I wanted the opportunity and was ready for it, but it happened last-minute, and it was a lot of responsibility to take on,” Sawhill reflected. “The season came quickly and I wasn’t as prepared as I wanted to be. My goal this year was to build up the program, to get into the school and get the word out. I keep talking to the teachers, the athletic director, to make those relationships better. For example, I took off work early today to present the state trophy to the AD.”
The players upped the visibility of the team by getting their game results included in morning announcements. The public recognition came at a good time, because DM East started winning, early.
“We went into the season very well prepared, and the results were great,” Sawhill said. “We won both of our games in our first tournament, which is the first time that has ever happened. … Right from the beginning, everything was clicking. There was never one point where I thought, ‘What’s going on?’”
Anchoring the squad is founding member Camryn Carpenter. The senior has been captain all four years and is the epitome of hard work. The scrumhalf received the Iron Woman Award because “she basically played every minute of every game in her high school career,” Sawhill said. “I maybe pulled her off the field for three minutes total.”
Wing Patience Murray was named tournament MVP and has been a scoring machine. Including the state tournament, she scored 19 tries this fall. As far as underclassmen, sophomore prop Marisa Anderson is a rising star.
“I thought she was a senior for the longest time. She gives me so much focus, and everything I’ve taught her so far, she picks it up so fast,” Sawhill praised. “She’s an amazing defensive player – lays people out – and offensively, she does everything right. I still can’t believe she’s a sophomore.”
Carly Reynolds completes the quartet of difference-makers on the squad, and they helped drive a successful league season.
“They always got mad at me because I wouldn’t talk about state tournament,” Sawhill said of the team’s reaction as its winning season evolved. “They mention stuff like that – “We might have a shot at states.” – but I refused to acknowledge it because I only worry about who comes next. The girls knew it early on, but I kept my focus.”
When the state championship did arrive, DM East was ready to perform. The team defeated Indianola 49-14 in the quarterfinals and DM Roosevelt 35-7 in the semifinals. That set up a title match against Valley, which had beaten Ankeny 49-0 and Dowling 28-7 earlier in the day.
“Last year we lost to Valley in the semifinals by one try,” Sawhill reflected on fall 2015. “But this year, we played them in the final and we won by one try, 21-14. It was a picture-perfect finish. We had a scrum as time expired. We won it, the ball passed out to the flyhalf and Carly kicked it out of bounds – just like we practiced. It was redemption.”
Murray and Carpenter were named to 1st Team All-State, and Reynolds and Anderson were named 2nd Team. Kelsie McDowell, who serves as Iowa Girls Development Director and Hawkettes all-star coach, took notice. She praised DM East on its first-ever state championship and marveled at the growth the league has seen over its five years of existence.
“I haven’t seen that good of competition in our league yet! It was incredible,” McDowell enthused. “Team wise I knew it would come down to East and Valley all year. They are both so strong with such amazing coaches and with complete opposite methods of play. Valley with finesse and experience and just beautiful play all around. East being so scrappy and physical with absolutely no quit! Just an amazing battle to watch in the 21-14 final.”
McDowell was scouring the ranks for additions to the all-star pool and is eager to add athletic first-years Jada Morris from Roosevelt and Sydney Julich from Ankeny. McDowell is taking Gold and Black sides to Colorado this summer, among other tournaments.
It’s likely that Des Moines East will have a presence on the all-star teams, but until then, the high school is going to use the state 7s achievement to reinforce its relationship with the school and hopefully build a foundation that produces future titles.
DES MOINES EAST 7S CHAMPIONS
1 Carly Reynolds
2 Bailey Gladson
3 Camryn Carpenter
4 Remma Jaspers
5 Jocelyn Landeros
6 Kaiya Beerbower
7 Taisha Taylor
8 Patience Murray
9 Hope Bos
10 Marisa Anderson
11 Allison Young
12 Emily Kochheiser
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