The 4th annual Girls’ High School 7s National Tournament occurred Oct. 23-24 in Meridian, Idaho, and 16 teams vied for top honors. Eight states sent representatives to the event, but it was Utah that impressed the most. The Beehive State took 1st, 2nd and 4th places , sending a strong message about the quality of age grade rugby in Utah. [lead photo: Ipo Watts @shotsbywatts]

After the USA Pathways Talent ID camp on Thursday and Friday, the field divided into four pools of four teams. Tournament organizers did well to feature four different states in each of the pools, so no one was playing a familiar opponent on day one. Utah’s Skyridge, Westlake and Orem went 3-0 in their respective pools, all advancing to Saturday’s Cup quarterfinals. Meridian out of Idaho, which placed four teams into the competition, also went undefeated during the pool rounds.

In Pool A, Westlake, which finished runner-up to Skyridge by two points in the Utah 7s final, beat Colorado’s Summit High School, Idaho’s Middleton, and nationals first-timer Family Faith Academy (Texas) by a combined 75-22. The Tigers, which had two squads active last weekend due to the CIRA 7s championships back home, posted two shutouts to also move forward into the Cup quarterfinals.

POOL A: Westlake (UT), Summit (CO), Family Faith (TX), Middleton (ID)
Westlake 29-15 Middleton
Westlake 22-7 Summit
Westlake 24-0 Family Faith
Summit 43-0 Family Faith
Summit 22-0 Middleton
Middleton 21-7 Family Faith

Utah champ Skyridge beat Idaho’s Owyhee, Iowa champ Cedar Falls and Oregon’s Summit High School by a combined 86-12. Cedar Falls won its two other matches to secure that second spot in the quarterfinals.

POOL B: Skyridge (UT), Cedar Falls (IA), Owyhee (ID), Summit (OR)
Skyridge 22-5 Owyhee
Skyridge 33-12 Cedar Falls
Skyridge 31-0 Summit
Cedar Falls 45-0 Summit
Cedar Falls 27-19 Owyhee
Owyhee 36-12 Summit

In Pool C, Idaho runner-up Meridian beat Oregon’s Grackles, Iowa runner-up Waverly Shell-Rock and Washington’s Liberty 87-10. Liberty shut out the Grackles and held off Waverly Shell-Rock 10-7 to advance to the Cup Round of 8.

POOL C: Waverly Shell Rock (IA), Meridian (ID), Liberty (WA), Grackles (OR)
Meridian 37-0 Grackles
Meridian 22-0 Waverly Shell Rock
Meridian 30-10 Liberty
Liberty 10-7 Waverly Shell Rock
Liberty 32-0 Grackles
Waverly Shell Rock 34-0 Grackles

Orem won the Plate in Utah and beat Idaho champ Eagle by two points (19-17), and nationals first-timer St. Thomas Aquinas (Kansas) and Bend High School (Ore.) by a combined 69-12. The Lady Mustangs beat St. Thomas and Bend handily to secure the second seed out of the pool to the Cup quarterfinals.

POOL D: Eagle (ID), Orem (UT), St Thomas (KS), Bend (OR)
Orem 33-12 St Thomas
Orem 19-17 Eagle
Orem 36-0 Bend
Eagle 47-7 St Thomas
Eagle 31-0 Bend
St Thomas 26-12 Bend

Saturday picked up with the knockout rounds, funneling the top-two teams from each pool into the Cup bracket, and bottom-two teams from each pool into the Bowl division. Games tend to be more consistently competitive on day two, as like-strength teams are grouped into tighter brackets.

All of the teams that won their respective pools on day one, as well as Eagle, won their way into the Cup quarterfinals. Skyridge shut out Summit (Colo.) 14-0; Westlake took out Cedar Falls 31-7; Orem eliminated Liberty 21-15; and Eagle beat a familiar opponent in Meridian 21-15.

The losing sides moved into the Plate bracket, which is essentially a race for 5th place. Summit (Colo.) beat Liberty 24-10 in the Plate semifinals and Cedar Falls topped Meridian 26-17. In the Plate championship, or 5th place game, Cedar Falls bested Summit 22-15 to finish 4-2 overall in its nationals debut. In the 7th place match, Meridian beat Liberty 24-10.

Meanwhile, the Cup semifinals featured three Utah teams. Skyridge beat Orem 35-7, and Westlake topped Eagle 36-5. Thus, the national 7s final mirrored the Utah Youth Rugby final that occurred a week prior, but Skyridge put a little more distance on the scoreboard the second go-around: 19-12 to repeat last the national 7s champions. In the 3rd place match, Eagle banked a redemptive 19-10 win against Orem.

In the Bowl division, Middleton (19-0 win vs. Oregon’s Summit), Waverly Shell-Rock (36-0 win vs. Bend), Owyhee (14-7 win vs. Family Faith), and St. Thomas (33-0 win vs. Grackles) won their quarterfinals. The Owyhee Storm had two more wins in them, defeating St. Thomas 43-7 in the Plate semifinals and then Waverly Shell-Rock 19-12 for the Bowl, or 9th place overall. Middleton finished in 11th place after its 17-7 loss to Waverly Shell-Rock in the semis and then 36-14 win against St. Thomas.

For those teams that lost their Bowl quarterfinal, they funnel into the Shield competition, with highest honors being 13th place. That title went to Summit (Ore.), which took down nearby Bend 19-10 in the Shield semis and then Family Faith 22-10 in the 13th place match. Bend took 15th with a 29-5 win against fellow Oregonian rep Grackles.

DAY TWO RESULTS

Cup Bracket
Quarterfinals
Westlake 31-7 Cedar Falls
Eagle 21-15 Meridian
Skyridge 14-0 Summit (CO)
Orem 21-15 Liberty

Semifinals
Skyridge 35-7 Orem
Westlake 36-5 Eagle

3rd: Eagle 19-10 Orem
Final: Skyridge 19-12 Westlake

Plate Bracket
Semifinals
Summit (CO) 24-10 Liberty
Cedar Falls 26-17 Meridian

7th: Meridian 24-10 Liberty
5th: Cedar Falls 22-15 Summit (CO)

Bowl Bracket
Quarterfinals
Middleton 19-0 Summit (OR)
Waverly Shell Rock 36-0 Bend
Owhyee 14-7 Family Faith
St Thomas 33-0 Grackles

Semifinals
Waverly Shell Rock 17-7 Middleton
Owyhee 43-7 St Thomas

9th: Owyhee 19-12 Waverly Shell Rock
11th: Middleton 36-14 St Thomas

Shield Bracket
Semifinals
Summit (OR) 19-10 Bend
Family Faith 41-5 Grackles

13th: Summit (OR) 22-10 Family Faith
15th: Bend 29-5 Grackles

The final standings

1. Skyridge – Utah
2. Westlake – Utah
3. Eagle – Idaho
4. Orem – Utah
5. Cedar Falls – Iowa
6. Summit – Colorado
7. Meridian – Idaho
8. Liberty – Washington
9. Owyhee – Idaho
10. Waverly Shell-Rock – Iowa
11. Middleton – Idaho
12. St. Thomas Aquinas – Kansas
13. Summit – Oregon
14. Family Faith – Texas
15. Bend – Oregon
16. Grackles – Oregon

The final standings speak for themselves, but so does the composition of USA Pathway teams that are playing international rugby this fall. The Team USA squad heading to the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal this November is mostly western based, and Utah accounts for five selections. And the USA 7s squad that is currently training in New Zealand includes Utahan Fane Tausinga, who graduated high school in the spring before heading directly to Chula Vista for 7s residency. Again, the USA Pathway staff was present at 7s nationals because selectors know about the talent that has been flocking to Idaho since the event’s inception four years ago.