2024 Division 1-A Rugby Championship

Division 1-A Rugby Championship
Tournament details
Countries	United States
Tournament format(s)	knockout
Date	6 April – 4 May 2024
Tournament statistics
Teams	16
Matches played	15
Tries scored	117 (7.8 per match)
Final
Champions	Saint Mary's (4th title)
Runners-up	Navy
←  2023 (Previous) (Next) 2025  →

The 2024 Division 1-A Rugby Championship is the twelfth season of the Division 1-A Rugby championship, the annual university rugby union competition run by USA Rugby involving the top sixteen college teams in the United States. Navy entered as defending champions having won their first Championship, capping a perfect 18–0 2023 season. ^[1] St. Mary's beat Navy in the final 26–22 in the final to secure their fourth championship. ^[2]

Teams

Sixteen clubs from the six major conferences compete in the 2024 National Championship playoffs.

The distribution of teams is:

• PAC Rugby Conference: three teams
• California: two teams
• Rocky Mountain: one team
• Independent: three teams
• Rugby East: five teams
• Mid-West Conference: two teams

The following teams qualified for the tournament.

PAC Rugby Conference	California	Rocky Mountain	Independent	Rugby East	Mid-West
Arizona California UCLA	Cal Poly Saint Mary's	BYU	Arkansas State Central Washington Grand Canyon	Army Life Mount St. Mary's Navy University of Mary Washington	Davenport Lindenwood

Sources: ^[3]

Team locations

Life

Lindenwood

Davenport

Navy

Army

University of Mary Washington

Arkansas State

Mt St. Mary's

Central Washington

BYU

Arizona

Cal Poly

Grand Canyon

UCLA

San Francisco
Bay Area
California
St. Mary's

class=notpageimage|

Locations
– East, – West

Standings

Rugby East [4] Pos. Team Record BP Pts 1 Navy 7–0 4 32 2 Life 5–1–0 6 26 3 Notre Dame College 4–1–1 3 21 4 Mount St. Mary's 4–2 2 18 5 St. Bonaventure 4–3 2 18 6 University of Mary Washington 3–3 4 16 7 Army 2–4–1 4 14 6 Kutztown 2–5 6 14 9 Queens 2–4 3 11 10 Southern Virginia 1–5 3 7 11 Penn State 0–6 3 3

Big Ten [5] Big Ten East Pos. Team Record Points 1 Ohio State 3–1 12 2 Michigan State 2–0 8 3 Michigan 1–4 5 4 Notre Dame 0–3 2 Big Ten West Pos. Team Record Points 1 Indiana 4–0 16 2 Illinois 1–1 4 3 Wisconsin 1–1 4 4 Purdue 1–2 4

Mid-West Pos. Team Record BP Pts 1 Lindenwood 3–0 2 14 2 Davenport 2–1 3 11 3 Adrian 0–2 0 0 4 McKendree 0–2 0 0

California [6] Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 Cal Poly 7–1 +422 8 36 2 Saint Mary's 7–0 +525 7 35 3 UC Santa Barbara 5–3 +118 5 25 4 Long Beach 5–2 +66 5 25 5 UC Davis 4–4 –144 4 20 6 San Diego State 3–5 –132 6 18 7 Santa Cruz 1–5–1 –291 2 8 8 Santa Clara 1–7 –266 3 7 9 Sacramento 0–1–6 –298 1 3

Independent [7] [8] Team Record PD Central Washington 8–3 +79 Grand Canyon University 4–4 +63

Pac Rugby Conference [9] Pos. Team Record PD BP Pts 1 California 3–0 +176 3 15 2 UCLA 2–1 +29 2 10 3 Arizona 1–2 –38 2 7 4 Utah 0–3 –170 1 1

Rocky Mountain [10] Team Record PD BYU 5–0 +339

Bracket

Playoffs

	Sweet 16 (April 6)					Elite Eight (April 13)					Final Four (April 20)					National Championship Game (May 4)
	1	Saint Mary's	78
	8	Grand Canyon	7
						1	Saint Mary's	34
						4	California	16
	4	California	70
	5	Cal Poly	13
											1	Saint Mary's	46
	WEST
											3	BYU	31
	3	BYU	48
	6	UCLA	15
						3	BYU	40
						2	Central Washington	26
	2	Central Washington	23
	7	Arizona	17
																1	Saint Mary's	26
																1	Navy	22
	1	Navy	41
	8	University of Mary Washington	7
						1	Navy	57
						4	Arkansas State	5
	4	Arkansas State	23
	5	Davenport	17
											1	Navy	27
	EAST
											2	Life	17
	3	Lindenwood	26
	6	Mount St. Mary's	0
						3	Lindenwood	10
						2	Life	25
	2	Life	24
	7	Army	17

Sources: ^{[11] [12] [13] [2]}

Round 1

5 April 2024

Arkansas State	23–17	Davenport
Try: E Roode (2) Con: W Day (1/1) Madden (1/1) Pen: W Day (3/4)	Report [13]	Try: J Bennie S Pitout T Kambani Con: van der Westhuizen (1/3)

Curt Huckaby Field, Jonesboro, Arkansas

---

5 April 2024

BYU	48–15	UCLA
Try: T Hammer (2) W Parry (2) L Clark J Campbell Z Mendenhall Con: T Hammer (5) Pen: T Hammer (1)	Report [12]	Try: C Carter S McMillan Con: J Cox (1) Pen: J Cox (1)

South Field, Provo, Utah

---

6 April 2024

Saint Mary's	78–7	Grand Canyon
Try: S Ofa (2) T Pappas J Negrete M Storti (2) K Matu JB Wilson M Abbes N Deegan E Younger C Lujan Con: M Storti (9/13)	Report [12] [14]	Try: L Jackson Con: (1/1)

Saint Mary's Stadium, Moraga, California

---

6 April 2024

California	70–13	Cal Poly
Try: O Newall (2) 5' c 69 m C Seastrand 12' c E Weigold (3) 24' m, 60' m, 78' m M de Beer 27' m, 52' m J Kirsten (2) 32' c, 54' m B Dowgiewicz 74' c E Cook 75' Con: R Santos (3) 5', 12', 32' J Kirsten (1) 74'	Report [12] [15]	Try: D Caillouel 40' c Q Tindel 51' m Pen: C Baker 10'

Witter Rugby Field, Berkeley, California

---

6 April 2024

Central Washington	23–17	Arizona
Try: O Treacy (2) 18' m, 47' m D Ferrington 40' c Con: J Tregoning (1/3) 40' Pen: J Tregoning (2) 41'	Report [12] [16] [17] [18]	Try: A Turpen c C Blair m T Champion 79' m Con: T Champion (1/3)

Tomlinson Stadium, Ellensburg, Washington

---

6 April 2024

Navy	41–7	University of Mary Washington
Try: J Beitia JD Bengston A Baublitz J Cornelius R Krieger R Hotaling Con: R Krieger (4/6) Pen: R Krieger (1)	Report [19]	Try: A Hayward Con: S Schefferman (1/1)

Prusmack Rugby Complex, Annapolis, Maryland

Notes:

• The Mids improved to 11-0 at home on the season outscoring opponents, 606-110
• Beitia scored the fifth-fastest try to begin a game in team history
• Krieger led Navy with 16 points in the win, which is the eighth-most points scored in a single game in program history
• Krieger's effort helped him pass 300-points scored in his career.

---

6 April 2024

Lindenwood	26–0	Mount St. Mary's
Try: AM Tapia 8' c J de Jager 28' c D Cathcart(2) 50' c, 68' m Con: B Forward (3) 9', 29', 51'	Report [20]

Lindenwood Track Complex, St. Charles, Missouri

---

6 April 2024

Life	24–17	Army
Try: P Simamane 11' c L Ballinger 30' c S Lenzsch 63' c Con: B Crane (3/3) 12', 31' 64' Pen: B Crane (1) 73'	Report [21] [22]	Try: B Kemp Pen: J Haley (4)

Lupo Family Field, Marietta, Georgia

Quarter-finals

13 April 2024

Saint Mary's	34–16	California
Try: K Matu 11' m D Besag 32' c JT Toia’ivao 40' K Kayoshi 43' S Pongi 65' Con: Storti (3/5) 33', 44', 66' Pen: M Storti (1)	Report [23] [24] [25]	Try: R Santos 71' m C Tomasin 78' m Pen: K O'Connell (2) 13', 35'

Saint Mary's Stadium, Moraga, California

---

13 April 2024

Central Washington	24–40	BYU
	Report [26] [27]	Try: J Tenney (2) L Clark Con: T Hammer (5)

Tomlinson Stadium, Ellensburg, Washington

---

13 April 2024

Navy	57–5	Arkansas State
Try: W Webb (2) 8' m, 14' c B Haugh (2) 34' c, 44' R Krieger 47' c A Taylor 55' c E Soeder 64' c A Ganse 66' c Con: R Krieger (7/8) 15', 35', 45', 48', 56', 65', 67' Pen: R Krieger (1) 80'	Report [28] [29]	Try: 21' m Con: (0/1)

Prusmack Rugby Complex, Annapolis, Maryland

Notes:

• Krieger's point total helped him become the first mid to score more than 200 points in a single season (219)

---

13 April 2024

Life	25–10	Lindenwood
Try: S Kramlich 8' c S Matthysen 58' c W Piggins 73' m Con: B Crane (2/3) 9', 59' Pen: B Crane (2) 16', 42'	Report [30] [31] [32]	Try: C Wallace 5' c Con: B Forward (1/1) 5' Pen: B Forward (1) 27'

Lupo Family Field, Marietta, Georgia

Semi-finals

20 April 2024

Saint Mary's	46–31	BYU
Try: D Besag (2) S Pongi I Toia'ivao E Storti (2) K Kayoshi H Modlin Con: M Storti (4/8)	Report [33] [34] [35]	Try: C Semu c Tenney (2) Parry Worthington Con: T Hammer (3/5)

Saint Mary's Stadium, Moraga, California Attendance: ~3,000

---

20 April 2024

Navy	27–17	Life
Try: W Webb 10' c J Cornelius 38' c I Bullock 56' Con: R Krieger (3/3) 11', 39', 57' Pen: R Krieger (2) 33', 65'	Report [36] [37] [38]	Try: K Hoffman 28' c penalty try 65' Con: B Crane 29' Pen: B Crane 23'

Prusmack Rugby Complex, Annapolis, Maryland

Final

4 May 2024

Saint Mary's	26–22	Navy
Try: D Besag 2' c E Storti 5' c J Battle Wilson 25' c S Pongi 42' m Con: M. Storti (3/4) 2', 6', 26'	Report [2] [39] [40]	Try: B Haugh 35' m W Webb 50' c V Schmitz 67' c Con: Krieger (2/3) 51', 68' Pen: Krieger (1) 70'

SaberCats Stadium, Houston, Texas

Rudy Scholz Award

Winner

• Wyatt Parry – BYU

Finalists

• Eduan Van Heerden – Lindenwood
• Wyatt Parry – BYU
• Evan Roode – Arkansas State
• Dom Besag – Saint Mary's

Nominations

• Caden Crist – Cal
• Calvin Liulamaga – CWU
• Cole Semu – BYU
• Dom Besag – Saint Mary's
• Eduan Van Heerden – Lindenwood
• EJ Freeman – Arizona
• Erich Storti – Saint Mary's
• Evan Roode – Arkansas State
• Hayden McKay – Mount St. Mary's
• Ishma-eel Safodien – Life
• Jack Phillips – Kentucky
• Oliver Corbett – Brown
• Peyton Wall – Indiana
• Remy Thomson – Notre Dame College
• Roanin Krieger – Navy
• Tiaan Mosconi – West Point
• Vaughn Schmitz – Navy
• Wyatt Parry – BYU

Sources: ^{[41] [42] [43]}

2023–2024 First Team All Americans

• Emilio Shea – University of California – Berkeley
• Cade Crist – University of California – Berkeley
• Connor Devos – Lindenwood University
• Alejandro Martinez Tapia – Lindenwood University
• Will Sherman – University of California – Los Angeles
• Logan Ballinger – Life University
• Kaipono Kaioshi – Saint Mary’s College
• Ben Haugh – United States Naval Academy
• Solomon Williams – University of California – Berkeley
• Wyatt Parry – Brigham Young University
• Dominic Besag – Saint Mary’s College
• Erich Storti – Saint Mary’s College
• Oscar Treacy – Central Washington University
• Josefa Toiaivao – Saint Mary’s College
• Tayson Hammer – Brigham Young University
• Quinton Tindal – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Campbell Robb – Central Washington University
• Leon Best – Life University
• Hayden McKay – Mount Saint Mary’s University
• EJ Freeman – University of Arizona
• Jake Cornelius – United States Naval Academy
• Rand Santos – University of California – Berkeley
• Ronan Krieger – United States Naval Academy

Sources: ^[44]

References

1. "Navy Caps Off 18-0 Season With Dramatic Final Win Over Cal". Goff Rugby Report. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
2. "Gael Force. Saint Mary's Holds Off Navy for D1A Championship". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
3. "Men's Rugby Earns Top Seed in East Bracket of Division I-A Playoffs". Navy Sports. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
4. "Fall 2023 Standings". Rugby East. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
5. "BIG 10 MEN'S RUGBY". NCRugby. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
6. "California D1A Conference Wraps Up With Positives For Many". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
7. "Central Washington University 2024 Men's Rugby Schedule". CWU. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
8. "Grand Canyon University Club Sports 2023-24 Men's Rugby Schedule". GCU club sports. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
9. "Bears Handle Utes On The Road". Cal Bears. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
10. "SCHEDULE". BYU Rugby. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
11. "D1A Playoff Matchups Confirmed". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
12. "Some Big Scores in D1A Western Bracket". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
13. "D1A Eastern Bracket Playoff Games: Eastern Update". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
14. "In Men's Rugby, the Gaels Defeat Grand Canyon in the First Round of Playoffs. Next up: Quarter Finals vs. Cal". St Mary's. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
15. "Bears Advance To D1A Quarterfinals". Cal Bears. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
16. "#2 Central Washington Advances In Battle of The Wildcats". Wild Cat Sports. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
17. "CWU RECAP: LEssons learned in postseason loss". Arizona Rugby. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
18. "Victorious Beginnings: Wildcat's Clinches Playoff Opener". CWU Observer. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
19. "Navy Uses Great First Half to Win First-Round Playoff Match Over No. 14 Mary Washington". Navy Sports. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
20. "Men's Rugby Defeats Mount St. Mary's in D1A Playoffs". Lindenwood Lions. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
21. "LIFE U Advances in D1A Playoffs with 24-17 Win Over Army". Life Running Eagles. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
22. "Men's Rugby Falls to Life in the First Round of the D1A Playoffs". Go Army. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
23. "Cal Falls To Saint Mary's In Quarterfinals". Cal Bears. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
24. "Cal Loses to Saint Mary's in National Rugby Championship Quarterfinal". Sports Illustratated. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
25. "Saint Mary's Impressive in Defeat of Cal in D1A QF". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
26. "Early BYU Surge Sees Cougars Past Wildcats to D1A Semifinals". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
27. "Mens Rugby Season Comes to a Close In Second Round of D1A Men's College Rugby National Championship Playoff". Wild Cat Sports. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
28. "Navy Advances To Playoff Semifinals With 57-5 Win Over No. 8 Arkansas State". Navy Sports. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
29. "Navy Thunders Past ASU 57-5". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
30. "Men's Rugby Clinches D1A Semifinal Appearance with Win over Lindenwood". Life Running Eagles. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
31. "Men's Rugby Ousted from D1A Playoffs by Life". Lindenwood Lions. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
32. "Life Downs Lindenwood To Make D1A Semis". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
33. "Gaels Defeat BYU and Are Headed for the Rugby National Championships". St Mary's-CA. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
34. "Gaels Race Past BYU in Wild D1A Semi". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
35. "Championship bound: Bay Area natives lead Saint Mary's rugby past BYU and into title game". The Mercury News. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
36. "Navy Secures Second-Straight National Championship Berth With 27-17 Victory over No. 2 Life". Navy Sports. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
37. "Navy Through to D1A Final After Win Over Life". Goff Rugby Report.
38. "Men's Rugby D1A Playoff Run Upended by Navy". Life Running Eagles. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
39. "Gaels Win Rugby National Championship". St Mary's-CA. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
40. "Comeback For Men's Rugby Falls Short In National Championship Loss To St. Mary's". Navy Sports. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
41. "Rudy Scholz Award Nominations Named". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
42. "Rudy Scholz Award Finalists Named". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
43. "Wyatt Parry Wins 2024 Scholz Award". Goff Rugby Report. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
44. "College Rugby Association of America Names the 2024 D1A Collegiate All-Americans". CRAA. Retrieved 6 May 2024.