Photos: Lexi Villagran
The National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) was supposed to hold its national 7s championship last weekend, but Covid-19 is still ruling. Wayne State College would have traveled to Raleigh, N.C., as the favorite, returning its entire starting lineup from the 2019 title run and fueled by its impressive start to this spring 7s season. Co-captain Anna Fleecs, the team’s only four-year player, was especially pumped for her final run with the Wildcats but ends her collegiate as the program’s most decorated player to date.
Fleecs grew up in Glidden, Iowa (pop. 1,500) and played a bunch of sports – swimming, volleyball, softball – but invested in basketball. She played AAU basketball with the All Iowa Attack and developed a hardy work ethic while training under Lyndsey Fennelly, coach Lefty Moore and USA Weightlifting coach Greg Kustra. She experienced some burnout, so when Fleecs reported to Wayne, Neb., in fall 2016, she promptly joined the rugby team.
“When I first joined the team, my veteran leaders quickly remarked that I was coachable and saw how hard I worked to learn the sport quickly,” Fleecs recalled. “I played under an incredibly talented group of ruggers my freshman year and was pushed hard, which helped form me into the player that I am now.”
Fleecs’s size made her a nice addition to the No. 8 and sometimes tight five options, and her basketball upbringing brought nice focus to the pitch.
“In other sports, I felt like I couldn’t use my strength because of the laws of the game and became a timid athlete with a lack of confidence,” Fleecs contrasted. “Rugby let me embrace my strength and forced me to become a more physical player. My squad and coach gave me the confidence I had never previously had to embrace my role on the team.”
Part of that role is leading the charge of defense, a hallmark of Wayne State rugby.
“As a younger player, I always doubted my ability to make important tackles and be a threat on the field,” Fleecs explained. “However, before each game we prayed our mantra. ‘We pray for the sisters to the left and right and us. We play for the team on the front of the jersey, not the number on the back. We thank you for the strengths you have blessed us with and recognize the areas in which we are weak because it is there that our sisters are strong.’ This prayer and our mantra brought us together as one. We never doubted each other on the field and as a result, each woman made defensive moves without any fear of failure. Personally, this mantra gave me the strength and confidence to make tackles and plays that were well out of my skill level.”
Wayne State College had won its first NSCRO 15s championships in 2012 and 2013, and then took a two-year hiatus from the title match before returning in 2016. The Wildcats beat Colgate for the national 15s trophy, the first of four that Fleecs would experience in Wildcats kit. The team then transitioned to spring 7s and entered 2017 nationals as NSCRO’s three-time reigning champ (2014-16), but Colgate got its revenge and took the 7s title.
During Fleecs’ sophomore year, Wayne State College won both NSCRO titles, defeating Bentley University (Mass.) in the 2017 15s final, and Lee University (Tenn.) in the 7s final. For the 2018-19 season, junior Fleecs was voted in as the 15s scrum captain.
“I worked even harder to make sure that my starting spot on the team and captainship was well deserved,” explained Fleecs, whose efforts did not go unnoticed. “It wasn’t until my mom told me about my teammates coming up to her after games that I truly realized the impact that I was having on them. They told her about how they learned almost everything from my coaching and prompting as well as wanting to impress me on the field. I am thankful that my coach trusted myself and my back captain, Brook Hoesing, enough to allow us to coach alongside him. We were able to continue to elevate the team’s standards as well as making it an inclusive, safe atmosphere where women could be introduced into the sport while being a key attribute to a very successful team.”
2018-19 was another double-title year for Wayne State College, which beat Catholic University of America (Md.) in 15s and the University of Rochester (N.Y.) in 7s. Fleecs started to feature on select sides as well, getting call-ups to the Prairie State 7s and 15s all-star teams, as well as the NSCRO Selects. In summer 2019, Fleecs became a founding member of the first NSCRO 15s all-star team, which faced the USA U20s in two matches in Philadelphia. Earlier this year, the 7s prop joined the NSCRO Selects at the LAI 7s and helped the team to a 3rd-place finish.
“To train hard enough to be noticed and invited to play with such talented women across the nation, while representing Wayne, was a huge honor for me and a marker of the progress I was making,” Fleecs enthused. “I loved these select sides because of the higher level of competition that I was exposed to and playing with a group of small-college athletes that were able to compete with the best programs and teams. It was also humbling to meet and play with the women who I have only faced off with in the past.”
When the 2019-20 team assembled, Wayne State College head coach Darrin Barner indicated that it was the best squad he’d ever coached. Senior Fleecs had the honor of returning as pack captain, while junior Brook Hoesing directed the backs.
“This last 15s season leading up to nationals, we won some huge games with one being an international game versus Brandon University, Canada, in Wayne,” Fleecs recalled the October match. “We played the night game on the varsity football field with the college coming out in full support. That energy propelled us to play one of the hardest and most physical games of my career. We capitalized on this game by bringing the same energy to nationals in the semifinals and championship, where we dominated.”
Wayne won the 2019 title against Endicott College (Mass.), and the team rolled that momentum into the spring. All of the starters from last year’s 7s national championship team returned, and the squad started knocking off DI teams early in the year. The Wildcats won the Iowa Hawkeye tournament, shutting out Davenport, Minnesota, Iowa and Notre Dame 188-0. The team traveled to Texas and added another five wins against Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, UT San Antonio and North Texas.
“Even with playing only two tournaments, this was by far going to be one of the best 7s teams I have ever played on. There was no doubt in my mind that we would have not only qualified for nationals but would have been playing hard to defend our championship,” Fleecs forecasted. “I am hoping that NSCRO will have a final poll to see where we stand from our hard work with a short season. It would be great to see the highly competitive 7s teams of NSCRO nominated to reflect their hard work leading up to what would have been a great tournament.”
Fleecs and four other seniors are missing out on their final collegiate seasons, and it’ll mark the only interruption of her four-year career. Fleecs has never endured a season-halting injury, aside from a few broken fingers that buddy-taping could handle, and so she was looking forward to ending her collegiate career at the peak of her abilities.
“Although I am leaving Wayne State Rugby without much closure in my final season, I am proud to graduate from a team in which I have complete confidence will continue to grow under the athletes returning next year. I am proud of the program’s accomplishments and the opportunity I have had to play a part in introducing the sport to new players and the opportunity earned in bringing the program to the next level for future generations of ruggers,” Fleecs closed.
“I am also humbled to be WSC Rugby’s most decorated athlete and anticipate that within the next few seasons, this will no longer be the case,” she added. “I couldn’t be more thankful to have played under Coach Barner and learned from him what it truly means to have a passion for this sport. He’s built and kept rugby culture alive in Wayne and I hope to someday create half of a program that he has developed. My leadership skills would never be where they are at today without his confidence. After graduation, regardless if I’m playing or coaching, this sport will always be a part of my life.”
The 22-year-old won four 15s and two 7s national championships with Wayne State College and now pivots toward the professional world. She will graduate with a degree in Human Service Counseling and minors in coaching and art, and then continue her education at the University of Minnesota Mankato’s Professional School Counseling Pre K-12th master’s program. The goal is to one day secure a school counseling job in a rural school in eastern Nebraska or central Iowa, and then pick up where she left off in Wayne: Inspiring another generation to fall in love with rugby.