Hononegah's girls rugby team to close season at High School National Championships

The Hononegah girls rugby team is headed to the High School Girls Rugby National Championships.

And while they will be playing in the developmental invitational bracket, and not the 15s national tournament bracket, they have a chance to slam the door on this season with a win or two (or three) at nationals.

"This is just a great opportunity for the girls to get to play in a big tournament like this and see what some great rugby teams are like," Hononegah's fifth-year rugby head coach Lassen Fleege said. "We wish we were playing for a national championship, but that's not quite where we are right now. But we hope to go in and compete in this developmental (bracket), and finish the season on a good note."

More on Hononegah rugby:How girls rugby became a sport at this Rockford-area high school

While not affiliated with the school, or with the IHSA, the Hononegah girls rugby program has been around for five years and it's growing. Although they were unable to pull off any wins in their five games this season, there is still progress being made.

"They're getting it. There's been huge growth, even from the start of this season to now," Fleege said. "They have really figured a lot of it out, and they're coming together.

"I'm very optimistic about the future, too. And this will be a good place to start, this weekend."

Hononegah was invited into the developmental bracket and will play two games on Saturday and one more on Sunday at the fields in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. The fields are located at 448 Clark St., Cottage Grove, Wisconsin.

The actual 15s national tournament for girls high school rugby, sanctioned by USA Rugby, will also take place on those fields this weekend but will kick off on Friday.

Last weekend Hononegah lost its last game of the regular season 56-17 to Taft in Chicago, but scored its most points of the season. Riley Oyston's kicks came up big throughout.

Oyston is one of three seniors on the team, as well as Mekenna Gibson and Yzes Smith, both of whom play scrum half and have scored two tries this season to lead the team.

"It's just been crazy. I came in my first year and I had no clue," Gibson said. "Now this year, I'm one of the loudest voices out there. I understand the game now."

And now they will all try and carry that momentum from the last game into the season finale tournament this weekend. And those three seniors will try and close out their high school careers with some strong play.

The rest of the team is comprised of: Jayla Brown; Emma Caver; Irelyn Crowley; Archer Dibble; Tessa Doud; Izzy Drummond; AJ Gibson; Gale Harms; Ella Holmstrom; Finley Hubert; Madeline Kahly; Evee Layng; Ema Mayer; Nina Mcclung; Kaylee Meier; Nayeli Mulrooney; Abby Nijoka; Rush Robare; Gretchen Roeske; Payton Skupien; and Leona Wojciechowski.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.