Photos: Ken Langley
The Midwest does it right. In planning a tour around the Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC), the U24 Thunderbirds program scouted the regional all-star championship to rebuild its player pool, made tour selections after an invite-only camp, and then designed a 10-day tour around international competition, cultural excursions, and support of its national team.
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The U24s kicked off the competitive portion of the tour at the Donnybrook 10s. The tournament was held in conjunction with the WRWC and featured six sides: three from the U.S. (two from the Midwest and one from the Pacific Mountain all-stars), Chew Valley and Reading Abbey from England, and Old Belvedere of Ireland.
The Midwest Gold started the day in strong fashion and saw leading performances from the speedy Leah Riese (Iowa State), who had six tries; Justine Perl (Cincinnati), who scored tries and conversions; and fellow try-scorers Faith Sorensen (Wayne State), Betty Nguyen (Chicago North Shore), Averie Mitchell-Brown (Minnesota), Hunter Moreland (Davenport) and Angie McCardle (Northern Iowa). County Will Morrigans’ Kelley Hirt kicked five conversions as well. The Gold team’s run ended against Old Belvedere in a 19-10 loss.
The Midwest Green dropped a 15-12 match to the Pacific Mountain all-stars early in the day but then rebounded with three shutout wins. Shannon Hustosky (Kent State), Bethany Kiedrowski (North Dakota State) and Megan Ahnen (Fort Wayne) were among the try-scorers en route to the final, where the team readied for its rematch against the Pacific Mountain all-stars. The West Coast team took the first lead.
“After a day of playing together, Green quickly replied,” Midwest U24 coach Jeff Noe reflected. “Led by Emily Hranchook of Detroit Women and Danielle Walko-Suia of Notre Dame College, they each crossed the line twice. Sam Warneke of Wayne State College and Claire Tomashek of UW-LaCrosse also scored tries, and Emily made three conversions. In the end, Green was able to get revenge on their loss to a very good Pacific team, winning 36-17.”
It was a good way to start the tour, and the Midwest built on that enthusiasm as it watched the USA Women’s National Team defeat Spain in Dublin. The select side then played Railway Union in a night game. Tomashek got the scoring going, getting around the edge for five points, and then the hosts tied it up as the forwards crashed over the line, 5-5. A defensive battled ensued, but right before the break, Walko-Suia ducked out of two tackles along the sideline for the go-ahead try. Tomashek converted for the 12-5 halftime lead.
“A few key subs came on at half,” Noe prefaced the Midwest’s win. “Averie Mitchell-Brown came in at scrumhalf allowing Walko-Suia to have more space at wing. A long run down the sideline led to a quick offload to a trailing Angie McCardle, who dove over the line. The youth and energy of the Midwest had started to wear down the Railway side.”
Sorensen, who had a great day “generally harassing and disrupting the possession of Railway,” according to Noe, finished off a well worked try, converted by Tomashek. And on the last play of the game, Mitchell-Brown ran a great switch off the base of a ruck to put captain and prop Megan Salyars into a gap for a crashing try, 29-5. The game was then called at the 60-minute mark for darkness.
The Midwest challenged itself during its final fixture of tour and took on the Ulster Select XV in Belfast. Hosted by Malone RFC, the senior regional team bested the Thunderbirds 29-5, but the U24s are better for the experience. The Midwest continues to set the standard for next-level opportunities and development for its women’s age grades. As the country continues to reshape its competitions and other programs fluctuate in support, the Midwest has retained clear pathways and dedicated staff to keep that desire for elite rugby alive and well.
MIDWEST U24 THUNDERBIRDS
Megan Ahnen – Fort Wayne Women
Rachel Aufdembrink – Univ Minnesota
Sarah Berry – DePaul Univ
Amber Brevig – Univ Minnesota
Becca Bukvich – Univ Minnesota
Taylor Day – Ohio State
Melanie Eck – Wisconsin Women
Kelley Hirt – County Will Morrigans
Emily Hranchook – Detroit Women
Shannon Hustosky – Kent State
Bethany Kiedrowski – North Dakota State
Angie McCardle – Univ Northern Iowa
Mary Kate McNulty – Denison Univ
Allison Miedzielec – Davenport Univ
Averie Mitchell-Brown – Univ Minnesota
Sidney Montano – Chicago North Shore Women
Hunter Moreland – Davenport Univ
Betty Nguyen – Chicago North Shore Women
Justine Perl – Cincinnati Women
Elizabeth Reding – Iowa State
Leah Riese – Iowa State
Megan Salyars – Univ Northern Iowa
Faith Sorensen – Wayne State
Claire Tomashek – Univ Wisconsin – La Crosse
Hannah Trommer – Kent State
Danielle Walko-Suia – Notre Dame College
Sam Warneke – Wayne State College
Chloe Wickstrom – Pittsburgh Univ
Jeff Noe – Head Coach
Jeff Horton – Backs Coach
Xane Gerasimo – Forwards Coach
Alexandra Glorioso – Manager
Brianna Woodward – Medical
Stephen Newman – Tour Organizer