The Men’s U23 7s will return to Infinity Park in Glendale, CO this weekend as the 10th Annual RugbyTown 7s kicks off on Friday, August 19th and running through Sunday, August 21st.
A premier competition with squads from around the world, RugbyTown 7s provides a quality, fast-paced tournament environment for these future USA Eagles and hopeful Olympians. The selection of twenty rugby teams will compete to take home a winning prize of $10,000. Tickets and a live stream of the full schedule are available at rugbytown7s.com.
Head Coach Colton Cariaga noted on the team selections, “We’re excited about the talented and confident squad that has earned the opportunity to compete at this incredible event. It’s a team comprised of several players who have already been exposed to the high performance pathway, and others who have just been in great form this past season. I believe everyone in this squad has serious potential to perform at the next level.”
A few highlighted names from the mixture of D1A standouts and Major League Rugby recruits include the Law brothers of Life University, Darius and Donovan, who are only a week removed from a USA Club Rugby National 7s Championship with National Athletic Village in St. Louis. Zach Bastres and Kahanu Koi will also shift to the sevens pitch after this past season with MLR. The Law boys, Bastres and Koi similarly joined Noah Brown, Chris Aurich and Ryan Santos amongst the roster of invites at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, CA where Mike Friday and the USA Men’s Sevens National Team hosted a development camp for up and coming talent in the sevens pathway.
In 2021, USA Men’s Eagle David Still and HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series breakout star, Lucas Lacamp were named to the U23 7s squad that earned a Bowl final win.
USA Eagle Alum and 2016 Olympian, Ben Pinkelman notably joins the coaching support, bringing his experience of 36 tournaments on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series to Cariaga’s staff. Cariaga added, “I’m really excited about the addition of Ben Pinkelman to the staff. Lucas, Anna, Ethan, and Dave are all familiar faces and top notch at what they do. Having Pinky in the mix, and his eye for detail, will really give us a boost.”
| Name | School or Club |
|---|---|
| Chris Aurich | Clemson University |
| Zach Bastres | New England Free Jacks |
| Noah Brown | Indiana University |
| EJ Freeman | University of Arizona |
| Jasper Green | Dartmouth College |
| Nick Hardrict | Lindenwood University |
| Kahanu Koi | LA Giltinis |
| Darius Law | Life University |
| Donovan Law | Life University |
| Dalton Musselman | Penn State University |
| Ryan Santos | Harvard University |
| Will Chevalier | Indiana University |
Colton Cariaga | Head Coach
Ben Pinkelman | Assistant Coach
Lucas Baistrocchi | S&C Coach
Anna Unnasch | Athletic Trainer
Ethan Pougnet | Video Analyst
David Fee | Team Manager
12:30 PM MT vs Cannibals
3:50 PT MT vs Tel Aviv Heat
8:40 PM MT vs British Columbia Bears
12:30 PM MT vs SoCal Griffins
*Knockouts begin 5:10 PM MT on Saturday
