The 2024 CRC's did not disappoint. A uniquely American tournament format featured a "win and advance" style of bracket, and the excitement that came with the high stakes was exhilarating. 

Premier Division - 

1st Place: Wheeling 

Back in January, Aaron Juma and Joe Iye led the Great Lakes NCR all star team to a cup final in Round Rock Texas. The two players dominance continued this weekend as Wheeling blew through their Saturday & Sunday competition. Juma is ready for the next level, and should be considered for a PR 7's contract this summer.

With 10 players from Zimbabwe and South Africa coach Michael Geibel shows he can recruit internationals aplenty, fielding an extremely competitive collegiate side. Will the college game ever have a cap on internationals? For now it comes down to how many scholarships you have and how hard you're willing to recruit.

2nd Place: Kutztown

At just 5'7", 155lbs, Chris Cleland is once again in dominant form. Last year's tournament MVP for Mount St. Mary's is now suiting up for the Kutztown Bears and showing size doesn't really matter in 7's. The flyer is excellent at stretching defenses in open space, just gassing teams off scrum set piece. Would winning back to back championships with two different schools be a first for the new age "transfer portal" collegiate era?

Kutztown fielded a team with an English / American blend. Four players from England and one from Scotland mix with American recruits from Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Kutztown program has been elite for the better part of a decade and won the entire tournament in 2022.

3rd Place: Babson

First of, let's just take a step back and realize that Babson (a small college) moved from the small college division ALL THE WAY up to the Premier bracket. That's a massive leap in competition, but they never flinched and clearly belong with the top competition. 

Brice Muller stands out at 6'6" 230 lbs, the Fairfield Prep grad has had as big of an impact on a program that a freshman can provide. A pivotal part of Babson's small college XV's championship, he can do it all. Run, pass, tackle, lineout ... he's a jack of all trades and will surely be a force for Babson in his next 3 years.

4th Place: ICCC 

Dubbed "The United States of Iowa Central" for the weekend, coaches Brent Nelson and Joe Lippert have built a mid-west monster in Fort Dodge Iowa. The Tritons have gotten better year after year and the program's success shows that you don't need a large group of alumni boosters to build a successful program. 

The majority of their scoring was done by Hlanga Mbela who was carving up defenses throughout the weekend. Noah Champion & Koen Webb created an impact running hard and straight earning the front foot in attack, while the skipper Matt Surles-Davis was ice cold in defense as he chopped down large ball runners all weekend .

Division 1 - Louisville blanks North Carolina State 29-0

Division 2 - Maine stuns Georgetown at the death 19-15

Small College - Slippery Rock beats St. Thomas 19-12

In the end, it was an exhilarating Friday and Saturday for the tournament. The women round out the championship rounds on Sunday and hopefully the event will be just as spectacular next year.

Special thanks for John Fitzpatrick of Rugby Morning for hopping on the show.

PICKEM!

College Rugby at its Finest (ft. John Fitzpatrick of Rugby Morning)

WKWK-Wheeling Don Nelson 10-07-1970

A Detour into Ecstasy with the genius of Dar Williams and myself on Bass, drums, percussion and vocal choir. Etherial, Other Wordly, Haunting, floating in the Rain, Contemplative, deep, dreamy...

I hope you feel the Stress Reduction of it all-

Vocals & Guitars- Dar Williams
Bass, Percussion and Drum loop,Synths, & All other vocals-Zannman
Kick Drum Sample - Brian Dunne (with Gratitude for your Groove talent)t
 Produced, engineered, Mixed, & Mastered by Zannman at The Green Room Studios in Appalachian Ohio..

The Beauty of the Rain - Dar Williams & Zannman Remix

Chris "Zannman" Zann- Music  Industry Curriculum Vitae

•	Is an Independent Artist, Songwriter & Producer with co-production and engineering experience with Norbert Putnam (Jimmy Buffet, Dan Fogelberg, Kris Kristoffesen,Joan Baez), Steve Gibson (Michael Johnson, & the Music Director for Grand Ole Opry Television/Gaylord Entertainment), Phil Solem (The Rembrandts), the late Tom Tucker, Sr., (Prince, Paisley Park) Andy Dee (Molly & The Haymakers) J.D. Steele & Tarra Layne  at TarraLayne.com.

Artists produced include  Tarra Layne,  J.D. Steele, Billy Franze, Jonell Mosser, Karen Staley, Stella Parton, Debbie Duncan, The Warehouse Barbarians (with Steele, Solem, Tucker, Putnam,Gibson), G# Greg Sain, Sonny T. (Prince's NPG & Cory Wong & the Wong Notes) Emmy winner PaviElle French, Paul Mayasich, Paul Metsa, blues legend Willie Walker, Charlie Roth (w Andy Dee), Rachael Mead, Jonny Bartlett, Mark Licktieg. Chris Halberg, Andy Hartin, Egon Danielson (w Andy Dee), Deep River, Lauren Redpath, Brokenheart Jones, Deb Brown, Brandie Adams, Peter McQuaid (with Gibson/Putnam) 70's Ohio hit band Kiddog(with Stan Hutto).

•	Recording mix and mastering engineer, with work at Paisley Park, Wild Sound, Flowers, Shock & Audio, FlyteTime/MMI, Winterland, The Terrarium, The Bennett House, Quad, Digital Recorders, Fonogenics in Los Angeles, Thr Cabin Studios in St. Paul & Minneapolis, MN, and at numerous other studios in the Twin Cities, Nashville including The Church Studios, Pittsburgh's premier studio.

•	Studio bassist, guitarist, drummer, Keys. arranger. percussionist and background vocalist having session and production experience with Steve Cropper (The Blues Brothers, Ringo Star, Booker T & the MG’s) Leland Sklar (James Taylor, Carole King, Phil Collins, CSNY, etc), Larrie Londin (Elvis Presley, Journey), Norbert Putnam (Elvis, Jimmy Buffett, Muscle Shoals) Russ Kunkel (James Taylor, Carole King, CSN, Judith Owen, Tarra Layne) Joe Osborne (Simon & Garfunkel, The Carpenters), Steve Gibson (Reba McEntire, Neil Young, George Harrison, Randy Travis), Dave Hungate (Toto & Chet Atkins), Michael Bland (Prince, Soul Asylum, Nick Jonas, Dixie Chicks, Chaka Khan, Waddy Wachtel (Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Keith Richards), Sonny T., Tommy Barbarella (tommybarbarella.com), Sam Bush (Multiple Grammy winner for O Brother Where Art Thou),  Jessy Greene (Foo Fighters),Dave Barry (Janet, Cher), Paul Peterson (The Family, FDeluxe) Billy Franze (Prince, Mavis Staples, Johnny Lang) , Donnie LaMarca (Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Lang, Whitney Houston), Andy Dee  (Molly & The Haymakers, Soul Asylum) Kevin Bowe (Jonny Lang, Paul Westerberg)  & Dr.Matt Fink (Prince & the Revolution)

•	Staff bassist for Jamboree USA radio show (1975-77), Wheeling, WV. Zannman worked as a staff musician with regional and on shows national artists, including Brad Paisley, Crystal Gayle, Charlie Pride, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn and Chet Atkins.

•	Artist and songwriter development, including early artist development (1984-86) and co-writing with Karen Staley, writer of the 1995 Academy of Country Music song of the year, Keeper of the Stars and numerous country hits for Reba McIntire, Patty Loveless, Trick Pony, & Faith Hill . Additional co-writing in the Twin Cities with Phil Solem  (I’ll Be There For You – NBC “Friends” Theme), J.D. Steele , Andy Dee (Molly & The Haymakers), Billy Franze (Prince, Mavis Staples, Johnny Lang), Greg Sain (Grammy winner w/ Jimmy Vaughn and Prince's MD for Carmen Elektra),  Margaret Cox (Prince & NPG, Tamara & the Scene), Tarra Layne & Rachel Mead.

•	Studio background vocalist for Glen Campbell with Alan Jackson, Ricky Skaggs, The Gatlin Brothers, Kathy Mattea, The Whites and others (Jesus On My Mind- MCA 1989}, produced by Jimmy Bowen- see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkin'_in_the_Sun

•	ASCAP writer and publisher member since 1985, co-published by Glen Campbell Music & BMG/Sony/Universal Nashville.  Catalog recorded by Johnny Paycheck, J.D. Steele, with songs also used in film and on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

•	Nearly 45 years of experience as a studio musician, songwriter, producer, music publisher, engineer, event promoter and private music & technology educator.

Talkin' Rugby, Tellin' Stories, Rugby PickEm

New tracks tagged #Wheeling