Pittsburg State will remember the 2019-20 season for the good and the bad. On the happy end of the spectrum, the Kansas team joined the DII Mid-America conference for its first official matrix season and was the top seed heading into the March title match. Conversely, 2020 will be remembered as the year that Covid-19 halted all rugby activity, including Pittsburg State’s dream season and first trip to the spring playoffs.
Pittsburg State beat Benedictine and Kansas State in the fall and attempted to get more field time as cancelations left holes in the spring schedule. The team traveled to New Orleans for a second-place finish at the Mardi Gras Tournament (lost to DI UCF), played Truman State in a friendly 51-0 win, and then won its March 7 matrix match 72-35 against Missouri.
“With each game I could tell that each girl, especially the new girls, which was most of them, that it was finally clicking,” Pittsburgh co-coach Jamie O’Donnell said of the team’s growth. “They went from being reluctant in rucks and tackles to being on top of it.
“Our wing, Aaliyah Kerr, the NOLA tournament was her first time playing and she was a little hesitant,” the coach named an example. “But then against Truman she got a try in the first 30 seconds. You could see it click.”
O’Donnell was effusive in her praise of the new players, who just had to pick up the game and go. Chief among the first-years is Sara Dressler, who showcases her athleticism at inside center.
“The knowledge that she’s been able to pick up, watching her play, you’d think she’s been playing for years,” O’Donnell said, “but she hasn’t even played a full year yet.”
Freshman Hannah Reynolds also found her place at fullback this spring.
“We had her play a bunch of different positions throughout the year, just because we weren’t sure what would work best for her,” said O’Donnell, who coaches the team alongside Grant Schultz. “The second she moved to fullback, it’s like the game clicked for her. She made a lot of try-saving tackles, and as a freshman, she’s only going to get better.”
Netting it all together are Macy Williams and Mauresa Caire.
“Macy was our flyhalf last year and scrumhalf this year,” O’Donnell said of the key decision-maker. “She is very quick-witted so she does really well in these positions and gets better with each game.”
Williams accounted for 32 of the 72 points against Missouri, scoring four tries and kicking six conversions.
“Mauresa is our eightman, so she has a key role on the field – making tackles, getting in the rucks and carrying the ball,” O’Donnell said of the team president. “But she does so many things off the field for this team that just wouldn’t get done without her. She does an exceptional job on and off the field.”
Pittsburg was ready to test its game in a playoff environment, and after the Missouri match, the coaches were informed that the team would contest the conference championship against 2-0 University of Central Missouri (both wins were forfeit wins). The result would then seed the teams for the spring regional playoffs.
“Holy crap! All that work we did paid off and now we can represent our school and ourselves at [the spring championship] and just see how far we can go,” O’Donnell recounted the team’s reaction to the news. “Two days later, it was broken hearts.”
Pittsburg at NOLA Mardi Gras tournament
Covid-19 canceled the spring 2020 season, including the college and club championships.
“We gave it a few days,” O’Donnell said of communication with the team. “We did want to have our moment and let it sit in that our season was over. Me and Grant and the captain started talking a couple days afterward and bringing up things we can do for next year. And we talk about it every day. Something we’re focusing on is recruiting. We’re only losing one girl to graduation but you can always recruit and use more girls. We’re focusing on fundraising, too.”
Tighthead prop Amber Asbell is graduating and she’ll leave a void.
“She’s a key player. We had no sub for her so typically she played the full amount of time,” O’Donnell said. “Every game she had 1, 2, 3 really good runs – and not just 10 meters but 25+ and getting good ground. She was always getting in the tackles and rucks.”
O’Donnell aches for the squad and the season that could have been, but she’s confident that the team will rebound from this heart-shattering disappointment.
“One hundred percent,” the coach said of the team’s likelihood of recovery. “After each game, even after we lost to UCF in NOLA, everybody said whether they had a good or bad game. Even if it was a good game, they are very critical of themselves because they want to be better for the next game. This has been an awesome stepping stone for the girls to continue to improve.”
O’Donnell and Schultz are moving to Florida in May, and so the team will be without coaches. President Caire will taking over that role and there’s a chance that a men’s team player who is getting his coaching certification might help.
“I love this team so much,” said O’Donnell, who described the players as intelligent, hardworking and destined for great success in the future. “I just want these girls, who are the future of our club, to know that this team is just so amazing. It’s filled with girls who will be there for you whether you need to cry, laugh or do something crazy. You have a family for the rest of the life. I love them. I want them to remember that they’ll always have each other.”
Even though O’Donnell is moving to Florida, she anticipates a return to Kansas for the alumni game. It typically occurs the first weekend of May and 2020 would have been the first year that Pittsburg had alumni to play. More firsts awaits in 2020-21.
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