Photos: Jackie Finlan
United set the example for hard, fast, relentless rugby during the girls’ high school championships, and the team was rewarded with the club title. There are so many moving parts within a successful program, but at the center of United’s triumphs this spring was Kat Stowers, our High School Player of Spring 2017.
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“She’s more than a leader as far as being that person out in front,” United coach Matt Kanenwisher said. “She’s the anchor, the rock that everything flows from and is connected to. If she was shaky one day, then we’d have a problem, but she honestly never is.”
The graduating senior is the mark of consistency, an attribute that she’s been able to test at the higher levels and against international competition. In the previous year alone, Stowers has played in Austria, France, Las Vegas and Philadelphia. Her composure under pressure makes for a great scrumhalf.
“Players rise and fall on mood and feeling, but she just aims to be immune to that,” Kanenwisher said. “She brings stability. There’s never a hole on the field, never a weak link. She really ties a lot of things together for us.”
Captain Stowers directed the most potent attack on display at the high school championship. She organized a pack dense with hard-charging forwards like younger sister Falelua Stowers, Cheyenne Nielson and Addison Horsley; and released a slick back line punctuated by players like Maili Schaap, Charity Tenney and Peyton Frazier. Stowers not only managed the game but was a real threat with ball in hand. She sniped around the breakdown, connected well out of contact and set up her teammates. She was quick to the breakdowns and had a sharp pass that kept quick ball in motion.
“In terms of ability, she never gets dominated by another player; she’s never out of her league,” Kanenwisher said. “You can have a quick wing but if they have to play against a monster wing, then you have a problem. She never finds herself in that position. She plays her game and the opposition has to adjust to her.”
Skilled and calm, Stowers is also a smart rugby player. Her grasp of the game allows the coaching staff to delve into team strategies and further push the squad.
“When she’s on the field it fundamentally changes the game. It’s not that we couldn’t play without her, but when she’s off, we have to make new plans,” Kanenwisher explained. “She’s a rock for the team.”
Stowers followed up the high school championships with a trip to Chester, Pa., for the High School Rugby Challenge. As captain of the Utah Cannibals, the state’s all-star team, Stowers joined nine United teammates and two Wasatch players en route to the 7s trophy. Cannibals coach Kanenwisher again credited Stowers’ poise while playing inside Talen Energy Stadium.
The win was a good start to the summer season, on the back of an unforgettable spring. Up next, a new challenge in the fall: college rugby.
#KatStowers United