Lumberjackies, Monarch Form Winning Combo

Rugby Colorado is relatively young in its hosting of a girls’ high school spring 15s season, but the Lumberjackies and Monarch have formed a good partnership. The “Monarchies,” as they are affectionately known, won their second-straight 15s title in May, a triumph built on solid student-athlete leadership and an ever-growing confidence the two teams have knit together.

2026 marked the third year in which the two teams have combined for the 15s season, and it’s the second year that Lumberjackies head coach Jules Lehman and Monarch head coach Rick Gurmendi have worked together. Both coaches have deep roots in youth rugby and have daughters on the squad who have been playing since they were five years old. They and their teams also know each other from fall 7s, which had been the only championship season for the girls until club 15s made an earnest return in spring 2024.

The teams are located an hour away from each other, so squads practiced separately but also had joint sessions in Golden, Colo. Still, there was a lot of pressure on game day to build that chemistry.

“We have quite a bit of experience on our side,” Lehman said of her nine seniors. “And it ended up being that my team had a lot of forwards, and Rick’s side had basically all of the back line. So some of my girls who maybe played back last year, we turned them into forwards so we could practice together as one forward group. Then Rick practiced their back line moves, and then we put it all together on the weekends.”

The reshuffling saw players like senior Lauren Rudibaugh, who had played fullback all last year and was the backup scrumhalf, move to hooker. Sophomore McKenna Lee, a wrestler who started playing in the fall and whom Lehman called “probably one of the fastest players in Colorado,” moved from wing to flanker.

“We played a 1331 and it worked well for us,” Lehman said of the game-day product. “I think that without having the setup that we had — where our forwards were kind of together and their backs were together — it’s hard to play a pod system when you’re not practicing with the same people all the time. But it worked well for our group because of that.”

The hinge of course is having leadership that sets the example for flexibility and support, and those pieces were present on both squads. On the Lumberjackies side, six of the starters who helped the team to the 2025 7s title were back. Addi Schreuder, Brooke Harnisch, Lauren Rudibaugh, Hermina Lehman among others bring experience that started building in middle school, and their quick decision-making and rugby IQ benefit the squad greatly.

On the Monarch side, seniors Kaliyah Schimpf and Esme Gates stood out at inside center and flyhalf, respectively. Schimpf is heading to Brown University in the fall, and Gates, who transferred from Fort Collins for her senior season, is enrolled at fellow NCAA DI varsity rugby program La Salle University. Rising senior Skyler Gurmendi was also an important link at scrumhalf, bringing communication and organization to the pitch.

“We had good experience across the board in the back line,” Gurmendi said. “We had one freshman starter, Lucie Seidel, but we’re lucky because I think all these girls have come up through youth rugby.”

There is Superior RFC but also the nearby Warriors youth program.

“When I started looking at the girls who were going to be starters in the back line, I realized that this was the first time that every single one of them had gone through youth rugby,” he continued. “They’ve traveled and played around the country, going to trips to Ireland [with EIRA] and stuff. But this is the first time that all of this experience is kind of bubbling up.”

“They all respect each other a lot, and everyone takes feedback really well,” Lehman said of the gelling process. “If there was something going on on the field, they were able to work it out quickly and easily, and no one would get offended. They would do what they had to do. It’s because of that leadership that the group overall was very respectful with each other, which was really nice to see out there.”

The league included five teams. Four teams — Glendale, Regis, Valor and Vipers – combined to form “GRV.” Lumberjackies+Monarch, East and the Hammers returned to the competition. And then the storied Summit High School joined the fray. The Tigers are a single-school program that traditionally puts multiple sides in the single-school CIRA fall 7s competition, but last year also added sides to the club-based Rugby Colorado fall 7s competition.

“It was funny when they decided to come back into the [club] league in 7s,” Lehman said of powerhouse Summit. “Everyone was kind of grumbly. And then when Summit joined for 15s, all my girls were like, ‘Oh, there go our chances.'”

Although Summit was new to this iteration of spring 15s, it has a long history of 15s and competed 15s nationals in May.

“Summit coming in always adds a little flair, but that’s not to say that any of our other games were easy compared to Summit,” Lehman added. “We knew we had to be on our game every weekend.”

The Monarchies won their opener against the Hammers 24-5 and then squared up against Summit. The Monarch players have more of a history against Summit, having competed in CIRA in 7s.

“I’ve been around for seven years,” said Gurmendi, who started coaching Monarch when daughter Marley (Sacred Heart University Class of 2026) joined as a freshman and then continued when Skye was of age. “The best we’ve ever done against Summit in 7s was tie them once. So there was some high anxiety for that match.”

But there was also confidence, Gurmendi asserted, that built from the 2025 title run, and it was amplified after a 26-14 win.

“When we beat them, I thought, ‘Wow, that was a big deal,'” he said. “Some of the players were in shock that we beat them, and it was emotional. That win really gave them a boost.”

The team went on to beat East 43-7 and GRV 24-12 to round out the regular season. Summit went 3-1, setting up a rematch for the state title.

“There was some anxiety,” Gurmendi said. “We told them it’s tough to beat the same team twice in the same season. And Summit wasn’t going to be happy losing [the first time], and so they’d want some revenge. So they took it very seriously and were amped up. They went into the game cautiously confident.”

There was a lot of talk about defense, per Lehman, and leaning into that shining aspect of the team’s game.

“Kaliyah at inside center makes a lot of big, huge tackles,” Lehman called out tone setters. “Sammy McWilliams at fullback – no one really got past her. Hermina and Mackenzie Best, both at flanker, they’d just tackle well enough that someone else could poach, or they were able to bring ballcarriers right down so that they didn’t make any gain line at all. Penny Dickinson also played really great defense, but everyone did their job. We did get scored on [in the final] but it wasn’t like they took advantage of a big hole.”

Defense also played a key role in the territory game. Lehman explained that the forwards had struggled with its lineout all season, so when the team opted for kicks to touch, there was the knowledge that possession might be lost in the subsequent set piece. But the gamble placed the game in good field position, and then defense stepped up to turn over ball for more attacking opportunities.

“Their nervousness and all that evaporated pretty early on,” Gurmendi said of the back line. “We have some intricate plays and stuff – a couple of long passes, overs and unders – and after a little time, they really started to click and look good.”

The Monarchies put the first try of the game on the board and stayed ahead for the entirety of the match, winning 28-10 against Summit.

“It was so evenly distributed,” Gurmendi thought on standout performances. “Kaliyah was matched up against Summit’s best player, Haley Russer. A great athlete, a great player. Their 8 and 13 are strong, but we thought their 12 was their key. She did score, but I think Kalia being able to keep Haley in check was something we needed to happen and she did a great job.”

The title marks the second-straight 15s title for the Lumberjackies/Monarch combination team, and the achievement is just as special as the first one.

“Mashing two teams is super difficult,” Lehman said. “As good as this league is, we went undefeated the past two years and won the championships. That’s pretty amazing. We had some really hard games, kept our composure, and got the win at the end.

“They had a pretty tough 7s season, but they were able to win that championship, too,” the coach added. “And so it’s fun to think about all those girls having that experience of winning state and having that confidence that they can do those things.”

“It’s been a real joy to team up with the Lumberjackies for a third year,” Gurmendi closed. “They’re just super great. The girls are great. Coaches are awesome. We meld well, and I hope it continues.”

Both sides have graduates heading into the college rugby realm this fall. As mentioned, Kaliyah is heading to Brown University and Gates is east coast-bound for La Salle. From the Lumberjackies’ side

“The girls are not only winning here in high school, but they’re carrying that forward into college,” Gurmendi said.”I know a lot of them want to play in college, so I think the whole positive experience just boosts all of the girls, and it helps them think about rugby more than just in high school, and hopefully it carries them forward.”