Alexa Kirschner captained the Charlotte Cardinals girls’ high school team (“Roonies”) to its third-straight North Carolina Youth Rugby Union (NCYRU) 15s championship, but it was a season-long process to get to those heights. The team lost its first two league games of the season, locked in, and then was rewarded in the post-season. For a subset of graduating seniors like Kirschner, the 2024 title marked a fourth-straight high school trophy. [all photos: Jim Eversole]
Next-door neighbor Caroline “Cookie . . .