The Mason City Girls Rugby team wrapped up another successful season, placing 6th in the state. That’s out of 8 teams and an improvement from 8th place last year.
“It was fun and exciting,” said junior Jordan Rand.
Rugby isn’t a new sport, with its creation dating back to 1823. But it has gained more and more popularity recently. MCHS girls started their own rugby team two years ago going to state both years.
“You have to have like a, ‘I can do this, our team can do this, we’re gonna win.’ That type of mindset,” said Rand.
Attitude means everything to Rand and her fellow teammate, Cassandra Mahnesmith, a junior.
“It’s a physical sport, you have to tackle people, —you cannot have a bad mindset,” said Rand with Mahnesmith adding, “You’re gonna get bruises.”
The girls say “If you’re scared, you’re gonna get hurt more.” This advice came from their head coach Kassie Drey.
Along with the excitement of state and the season being over, comes fear.
“I’m scared for next year, like, what if we don’t have enough people?” Rand said.
Rand says they saw a rise in players during the team’s first year because it was new and people were trying new things to see if they would like it. However, the players are doing their best to keep their hopes up about the program growing even more over the next few years.
