Waverly-Shell Rock Takes Iowa Title to Nationals

For Waverly-Shell Rock, the goal every year is to win the Iowa Youth Rugby Association (IAYR) Girls’ High School 7s Championship, but this fall, the 2024 titleholder wanted to prove that last year’s title run was no accident. The team more than demonstrated its right to be deemed a “powerhouse,” and then took its game out of state for a noteworthy debut at 7s nationals in Idaho. [lead photo: Sarah Gress]

After the 2024 title, head coach Casey Hansen noted a bump in numbers, with 22 players reporting for the fall 2025 season. The squad had only graduated three seniors and welcomed 10-or-so newcomers to refill the ranks.

“We knew we were going to be in a good spot,” Hansen said heading into fall 2025. “And having that year of experience [winning the 2024 title] made a difference. We also picked up some really athletic freshmen, and this year’s juniors transitioned really well from being sophomores taking on leadership roles.”

Out in front is senior captain Madison Englin, who is an identified USA Pathways athlete and attended both U18 7s and 15s camps this past year. Fellow senior captain Miley Armstrong and junior vice captain Avery Harris complete a stellar leadership group. The returners also inject that next-level experience from state (Iowa Hawkettes) and regional all-star programs (Midwest Thunderbirds).

They steered the squad into the 2025 IAYR season, which began on Sept. 8. Across the fall, 14 teams played games, but not all of them completed a full season. Waverly-Shell Rock posted some big shutouts through the first three weeks of play, and then got the pushback it was craving from Cedar Falls. That Sept. 29 match went 22-12 in favor of Waverly-Shell Rock.

“We play very good defense, and it’s hard for teams to handle,” Hansen said of the team’s strong suits. “It’s hard for a lot of teams to handle

“Mya Behrends. She plays flyhalf for us,” the coach said of defensive tone-setters. “Just an absolute hammer. I don’t think she misses tackles, and if she does, she still slows them down. It’s Mya, Camille Schult and Kambree Westendorf, who’s like 105 lbs. but will tackle anybody, or at least be a speed bump for them.”

Hansen also called out the team’s experience-rich back line as a difference maker on the pitch.

“It’s a lot of seniors,” Hansen said. “They’re all very good at tackling. They all have high IQ. Most teams are going to move it wide and kind of get you in the back line, but it was just really hard for other teams to do that against seniors out there.”

The domination continued through the regular season, and juniors Harris, Ava Soesbe and Addi Jorgenson all previewed the leadership that will steer the squad next year. Meanwhile, freshmen Westendorf and Collins Ryan impressed off the bench and kept Waverly-Shell Rock’s intensity at a premium. That depth was important, as the squad lost three of its starters for at least half of the season.

The top-eight teams advanced to the Oct. 19 state championship at Southeast Polk. It’s a traditional Round of 8 format, with three rounds of knockouts contested in one day. Waverly-Shell Rock, 12-0 at the time, was ranked #1 and took on Cedar Rapids Washington at the quarterfinal stage.

“It was like our fourth time playing them, just due to some scheduling, so we knew what to expect from them,” Hansen said of the opener. “We got off to a big lead and got to rest some legs. And then in the semifinals, we had Norwalk, who we had played the week before. So they didn’t really give us any surprises that we hadn’t just seen.”

Waverly-Shell Rock again built up a big lead before working the bench and allowing some starters to save legs for the final. Cedar Falls also won its quarterfinal and semifinal, but there was little drama in the 2024 championship rematch. The WSR defense sang, the attack opened up, and the reserves kept the pace high in the 33-0 title win. All told, the squad went 109-0 at the championship tournament, ending 15-0 on the fall. Englin was named championship MVP for the second-straight year.

“Last year, the only challenging thing was getting the monkey off our back and having to beat a very good Cedar Falls team,” Hansen thought on the significance of this year’s title run. “This year we had a target on our back, and the girls needed to step up. And unlike last year, we had to overcome a pile of injuries, and the freshmen did a great job stepping in and not missing a beat.”

Waverly-Shell Rock took time to enjoy its back-to-back status, but also needed to quickly focus on a new challenge: the Girls’ High School Rugby 7s Championship. The event reached out to Hansen last year after the team’s first state title, and 2025 marked the first time that an Iowa team featured in the tournament.

“Not getting a point scored on you at the state tournament, you realize that you’re maybe pulling away from some of the teams in the state – at least for this year,” Hansen said. “So to be able to test yourselves against other state champions and nationally recognized schools, it was a big thing for us.

“So going out there, we really didn’t know what to expect,” the coach added. “But we knew that every game would be hard. Everybody was really pumped about being out there.”

The 3rd annual tournament occurred from Oct. 24-25 in Meridian, Idaho, and featured 16 teams from six states. Host Idaho led with six teams, followed by Utah (4), Oregon (3), Colorado, Iowa and Washington. The field was divided into four pools of four teams. Waverly-Shell Rock opened with a 37-12 win against Owyhee.

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“They were a little stunned, because we’re not a huge team by any means, but we’ve got good tacklers and kind of jumped on them on defense,” Hansen said. “So after that game, the girls figured out that they belonged there.”

And round two solidified that notion. Eagle High School, which had just won the Idaho state 7s championship, awaited. The Mustangs are also the two-time reigning, single-school 15s national champion. A superb game evolved and the hometown squad held a slim lead as regulation ticked away. Then Schult scored the game winner at the buzzer, securing a 27-24 win.

“That was probably the best rugby I’ve ever seen them play,” Hansen said. “Very, very good transitions, breakdown speed – everything was really good. And Eagle was very, very good. So it was good to get that one under our belt.”

Waverly-Shell Rock ended pool play against Westlake, a physical team from Utah. The Iowans prevailed 22-7 to win its pool, and banked a ton of confidence. During Saturday’s quarterfinals, some oppressive line speed shut down Rocky Mountain High School (Idaho) and produced a shutout win for Waverly-Shell Rock. And then in the semifinals, the team faced eventual champion Skyridge out of Utah.

“They got us,” Hansen said of the 19-0 loss. “That whole team is just crazy good.”

Skyridge went on to face Eagle in the final, winning 21-12 for the trophy. Meanwhile, Waverly-Shell Rock lined up against its third Idahoan opponent, Mountain View, of the tournament for 3rd place. The rainy match marked the final game for this squad as a whole, as Iowa does not field a spring competition for its girls’ high schoolers.

“The girls bounced back really well,” Hansen said of the 30-5 win. “It was a good ending for the seniors. And they had to overcome a lot. Our sideline looked like a hospital waiting room with maybe five girls on crutches. But they did an absolutely amazing job of stepping up and figuring it out fairly quickly.”

That’s it for Waverly-Shell Rock this school year, but one will find many players transitioning to wrestling now. Individuals will also flow into the Hawkettes, Thunderbirds, EIRA and potentially USA Pathways before the 2025-26 closes.

“They understand that those girls play a pile more rugby than we do, so it was a good emphasizer of playing for select teams and playing as much as we can when we can,” Hansen said of Idaho takeaways. “We plan on going back, and I’m going to attempt to get another team from Iowa out there as well.”