{"id":798967,"date":"2019-08-28T18:38:18","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T00:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=370669"},"modified":"2019-08-28T18:38:18","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T00:38:18","slug":"vaunted-summit-high-girls-rugby-hopes-for-more-elite-results-with-faster-younger-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/vaunted-summit-high-girls-rugby-hopes-for-more-elite-results-with-faster-younger-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaunted Summit High girls rugby hopes for more elite results with faster, younger team"},"content":{"rendered":"

BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 Despite the fact that they\u2019ll start the season returning only two starters from last year\u2019s top team, the Summit High School girls rugby program expects to contend with the state and country\u2019s best teams again this season.<\/p>\n

Of the program\u2019s 52 players this season, only nine are seniors. It\u2019s one of those years, Tigers head coach Karl Barth said, when a small class finally rises up in the ranks to senior status. On the other end of the spectrum, twice as many freshmen, 18, are a part of the program this year.<\/p>\n

After losing such accomplished players as Jordan Elam, CeCe Pennell and Clara Copley, among others, the Tigers will start their campaign for a 12th consecutive state title with just two of last year\u2019s starters in their sevens lineup: PK Vincze and Nicole Kimball. A third starter from last season, senior Logan Simson, should return from rehabbing a shoulder injury sometime in September. But another injured player, senior Abby Daugherty, won\u2019t be back this season after undergoing surgery for a torn ACL this offseason.<\/p>\n

The injury was a tough one for Daugherty after she got hurt playing for the Colorado all-state team at the Rocky Mountain Challenge club tournament at Glendale\u2019s Infinity Park earlier this summer. But during preseason practice the past two weeks, Daugherty has settled into a half-captain, half-coach role. It\u2019s one her and Barth have termed \u201cca-pooch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized I had to change my idea of what rugby is and change my role as part of the team,\u201d Daugherty said. \u201cAnd now, I am more of a mentor. I\u2019m there for the JV girls to show them the ropes and build them up higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

When 35% of your program is made up of freshmen and 60% are freshmen or sophomores, it\u2019s a tough time to lose a veteran player the caliber of Daugherty. But Barth said the first couple of weeks of practice have been fun to watch several young Tigers step out of the shadows of departed players.<\/p>\n

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Senior Nicole Kimball practices with the girls rugby team Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Summit High School in Breckenridge.<\/strong>
Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve brought good energy so far,\u201d the coach said. \u201c I think we\u2019ll have a little slower start than probably last year\u2019s team, but I don\u2019t have any doubt that we\u2019ll finish any less. They\u2019ll finish strong. It might take them a little longer to find those pieces to the puzzle. Last year\u2019s team already had that experience at the top level. There\u2019s some young kids, some sophomores, who are going to be on that first team, pushing to play. But it\u2019s just about getting them comfortable, playing off of each other, using their strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barth said he expects to field three teams for sure this year and likely a fourth if underclassmen are able to stay healthy. The Tigers\u2019 top side will play a faster, more wide-open style of rugby this year after last season\u2019s team preferred a more direct, physical style. Summit\u2019s second side, which will play varsity-level competition at some tournaments, is actually physically bigger than the Tigers\u2019 top team.<\/p>\n

The top side will be led by Vincze and Kimball\u2019s extensive confidence and experience, but other players, such as four-year Tiger Natalie Anderson will also play a big leadership role.<\/p>\n

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Junior Bryton Ferrari practices with the girls rugby team Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Summit High School in Breckenridge.<\/strong>
Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt was really helpful to be on the second team last year competing against the same level of teams, but maybe with a less experienced group,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cThat forced us to step up, and that definitely helped make it easier this year for that group to be the new leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Juniors Brielle Quigley, Maleena Mero, Elena Francis and Bryton Ferrari are expected to step into larger roles this autumn, with some of them playing their first year with the Tigers\u2019 top team. Barth also said sophomore Millie Carlton has provided the team with the kind of physical presence reminiscent of last year\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s a ton of the younger kids,\u201d Barth said. \u201cIt\u2019s a \u2018how fast will they rise\u2019 kind of thing because they\u2019ve been coming on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tigers also will benefit from the addition of three athletic seniors: Jenna and Jordan McMurtry and Olivia Snyder. Barth said all three talented Alpine skiers have taken to rugby quickly, namely Snyder, who has been running the top side a lot through camp.<\/p>\n

Beginning with their Summit 7s tournament at home at Tiger Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, the Tigers will face the top competition in the state and country. That includes a trip to the Pink 7s in Salt Lake City in October and visits from elite sides such as United of Utah and Wasatch for the Summit 7s tournament.<\/p>\n

No matter who they play, this year\u2019s iteration of Summit Rugby is eager to live and play up to the program\u2019s sky-high standard and level of intensity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are all super competitive,\u201d Ferrari said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a very competitive drive we have this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Head coach Karl Barth works with the girls rugby team during practice Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Summit High School in Breckenridge.<\/strong>
Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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Junior Angel LeBaron practices with the girls rugby team Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Summit High School in Breckenridge.<\/strong>
Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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Junior Rilla Long practices with the Summit High girls rugby team Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Summit High School in Breckenridge.<\/strong>
Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Sophomore Elizabeth Darst throws the ball during rugby practice Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Summit High School in Breckenridge.<\/strong>
Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 Despite the fact that they\u2019ll start the season returning only two starters from last year\u2019s top team, the Summit High School girls rugby program expects to contend with the state and country\u2019s best teams again this season. Of the program\u2019s 52 players this season, only nine are seniors. It\u2019s one of those years, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-798967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-19 18:08:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798967\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}