RugbyMag Girls Rankings

RUGBYMag.com publishes a girls rugby national ranking. Here's their latest:



Girls Top 20

1. Summit (Colo.)

2. Sacramento Amazons (Calif.)

3. DSHA (Wisc.)

4. Fallbrook (Calif.)

5. Kent (Wash.)

6. Brookfield (Wisc.)

7. Lakewood (Ohio)

8. Portland (Maine)

9. West Carroll (Md.)

10. Canby (Ore.)

11. Douglas County (Colo.)

12. Ravenwood (Tenn.)

13. Fairax (Va.)

14. Fullerton (Calif.)

15. Fairport (NY)

16. Fox Chapel (Pa.)

17. Maryville (Tenn.)

18. North Clackamas (Ore.)

19. Mother Lode (Calif.)

20. Harbour (Wash.)



There are a lot of great teams and programs on this list and it reflects the continued growth and increased depth of girls teams across the country. It's also some well deserved recogniton for two WGR programs and four Midwest teams.



Some of the predictions are also thought-provoking. That's what sports writer's strive for, right? We'll see how this plays out on the field this spring. First, the reigning champion, Sacremento Amazons, aren't ranked #1. Unusual for a national champion? Some say that until you're knocked off, a champion remains just that, a champion. Maybe it's a reflection of a large graduating class last year? How many programs can continually challenge for a championship, year in and year out?



Summit, a team that has never defeated Sacramento, DSHA, or Kettle Moraine is ranked #1. They last competed nationally losing in the first round in 2009. Their highest finish is fourth. Fox Chapel, a perennially athletic and dangerous team from the Allegheny Union, gets into the top twenty. They finished fifth at the Midwest Regional last year.



Brookfield, a team loaded with talented athletes, cracks the top ten. How did Kettle Moraine miss out on being ranked? KM defeated Brookfield twice this school year.



Lakewood is another talented program that's always in the discussion. They lost their state championship last year to St Joseph's high school. A sign of things to come? St Joe's fails to crack the top twenty.



Lastly, a lot of west coast teams in there. They appear to be doing a nice job of building youth programs that lead into their high school teams. Fullerton is one of those teams that's well regarded for building a bottom-up program for boys and girls and this is clearly paying off for them.