Swarm on the run. /// Photo courtesy Westside Swarm •
The Colorado high school 7s series kicked off last Saturday and saw reigning state champ Westside Swarm triumph at the Chaparral-hosted venue, and Summit contest an all-Tigers final in the companion tournament.
The 16 sides are divided into four pools, and each round hosts two separate tournaments. Two pools play at each tournament, and the various pools play each other twice throughout the fall. Teams accrue standings points, akin the World Rugby 7s series, and the champion will be named on points. Last weekend, pools 2 and 3, and pools 1 and 4 were supposed to play each other, but there was some movement between groups and a couple of teams struggled to field sides.
At the Summit-hosted event, the Tigers entered four teams to fill out the bracket, with two of the four going unscored upon through pool play. In the final, Summit Black beat Summit White 12-7, while the Lumberjackies and Palmer tied 10-10 in the third-place match.
The Chaparral-hosted event had more variety. Swarm cruised through pool play, outscoring opponents 157-5 and heading straight to the final. The trio of Chaparral, Fort Collins and Glendale traded wins and losses on the day, all three finishing 2-1, but it was Fort Collins that earned the berth to the final. Nevertheless, Swarm ramped up its final performance for a 50-5 victory in the title bout. Chaparral finished third with a 19-14 victory.
Maddi Lane led all of Swarm’s point-scorers with 36 across tries and conversions, while freshman Soneva Scott and sophomore Maddie Hadden each dotted down six tries on the day. Carson Hann also had a good day on the pitch. Coach Darryl Lane has 16 players with which to work this season, seven of whom are completely new to rugby. Sisters Sydney and Jaden Congdon, after three weeks of practice – and experience – stood out among the newcomers.
The series enjoys a bye this weekend and resumes Sept. 24. Saturday’s victors – Swarm and Summit – host round two’s tournaments. The season culminates on Nov. 12 at Glendale’s Infinity Park.
Chaparral Tournament
Swarm 54-0 Chaparral JV
Swarm 71-0 Littleton
Swarm 32-5 Legacy
Fort Collins 51-0 Legacy JV
Fort Collins 20-12 Chaparral
Chaparral 48-0 Legacy JV
Chaparral 22-5 Glendale
Glendale 20-17 Fort Collins
Glendale 36-5 Legacy JV
Legacy 46-5 Littleton
Legacy 48-0 Chaparral JV
Littleton 10-10 Chaparral JV
3rd: Chaparral 19-14 Glendale
Final: Swarm 50-5 Fort Collins
Summit Tournament
Summit Black 42-0 Summit Green
Summit Black 21-0 Lumberjackies
Summit White 41-0 Summit Gold
Summit White 29-0 Monarch
Palmer 20-0 Summit Gold
Monarch 24-15 Summit Gold
Lumberjackies 5-5 Summit Green
3rd: Lumberjackies 10-10 Palmer
Final: Summit Black 12-7 Summit White