Rugby Club sends five players to Ohio State Rugby

Submitted by the Hudson Rugby Club

The Hudson Rugby Club announced that five team alumni joined the Men’s Ohio State University Rugby team for the Fall 2024 Rugby 15s season. Their first home Big Ten match was on Sept. 14 in Columbus, where they crushed Illinois RFC, 58-17. HRC Executive Director Ryan Regan said five alumni playing at the same university is unprecedented.

“We’ve had many players move on from our club to play at the university level – and beyond – but we’ve never had so many continue together on the same team. I’m proud of our coaches who instilled such strong connections among the young men that they wanted to keep playing rugby together past high school,” Regan said.

Ohio State University players from the HRC include Andrew Cunningham, JoJo DeLambo, Ian Goldfeder, Caden Regan and Max Reynolds. Regan is a 2023 graduate of Hudson High School, DeLambo and Reynolds are 2024 graduates of Hudson High School, Cunningham is a 2024 graduate of Western Reserve Academy and Goldfeder is a 2024 graduate of Solon High School.

Hudson native and former professional rugby player Allan Hanson, who now coaches OSU and the Ohio Aviators, believes that former Hudson players’ strong showing at the collegiate level is a testament to HRC’s program.

“Rugby is growing rapidly across the country, and HRC has always been ahead of the curve,” Hanson said. “With the great experience offered at HRC, players are more inclined than ever to pursue rugby at the collegiate level. The players have a great foundation in the sport and arrived at Ohio State ready to make an impact.”

Additionally, Gage Barnes, the 2024 HRC boys team captain and a Woodridge High School 2024 graduate, plays Rugby 15s at Slippery Rock University. Chase DeWitt, a 2024 Hudson High School graduate, plays for West Virginia University on the Rugby 15s team along with Robby Bradshaw, Hudson High School class of 2020. Barnes’ Slippery Rock team faced DeWitt and Bradshaw’s Mountaineers at West Virginia University on Saturday, Sept. 14. Rock Rugby came away with a 22-point shutout.

About HRC HRC welcomes boys and girls players in grades K-12 from Hudson City School District and the surrounding communities, at any time during the season whether or not they have rugby experience. Since 2002, the club has cultivated exceptional leaders, both on and off the pitch, by instilling a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous self-improvement. The club playing 7s Rugby in the fall and 15s Rugby in the spring. For more information contact hudsonyouthrugby@gmail.com. ∞

Photo: Hudson Rugby Club alum (l-r) Max Reynolds (Hudson High School ’24), JoJo DeLambo (HHS ’24), Caden Regan (HHS ’23), Ian Goldfeder (Solon High School ’24), and Andrew Cunningham (Western Reserve Academy ’24) reunite in scrum battles on behalf of the Buckeyes. Photo submitted.