Birth name | Kenneth Mitchell Stern | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 21 May 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Stamford, CT, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Boston University (2010) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kenneth Mitchell Stern (born 21 May 1988) is a Filipino-American rugby union player for the Philippines national rugby union team, nicknamed the "Volcanoes". [1] He has represented the Philippines in both rugby fifteens and sevens. His primary position is wing.
Originally from Quezon, Stern's family emigrated to Stamford, Connecticut, where he attended Fairfield College Preparatory School in nearby Fairfield, Connecticut. He graduated from Boston University in 2010, where he was a member of the rugby team. His collegiate rugby honors included New England Rugby Football Union All-Stars, the Northeast Collegiate All-Stars and the All-American 7s Team. [2]
Stern was also a member of the New England Immortals rugby league select side that beat Canada in 2010.
Stern made his International debut for the Philippines in the 2009 Asian Five Nations tournament, where the Philippines earned a promotion to Division 2 by beating Iran and Guam. In 2010, he was a member of the Volcano squad who took home the shield, scoring two tries in a 34–12 win over India [3] helping the Philippines to their second promotion in as many years. Stern would continue to play at wing with the Volcanoes in 2011, including a test match against Hong Kong, [4] and again in 2012, helping the Philippines get yet another promotion to the A5N Top 5.
Stern also represented the Philippines in rugby sevens, including the Volcanoes first ever World Cup appearance in the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Moscow, Russia. He also was a member of the 2014 Asian Games squad in Incheon, South Korea. [5]
Aside from rugby, Stern has also had a successful modeling career, appearing in such publications as Cosmopolitan in both the United States and the Philippines, receiving "Hunk of the Month" honors in the December 2011 issue and was named a finalist in the 2011 "Cosmo Bachelor of the Year" poll. [6] His sister Elizabeth Mae Stern was the former Philippine figure skating national champion [7] and an Olympic hopeful.
Sports in the Philippines is an important part of the country's culture. There are six major sports in the Philippines: basketball, boxing, tennis, football, billiards, and volleyball.
The Philippines national rugby union team, nicknamed the "Volcanoes", represents the Philippines in international rugby union. The Philippines have been playing in the Asia Rugby Championship since 2006 when the team was first created. In 2012 they won the Division I championship and were promoted to the top 5 for the 2013 tournament where they earned 4th place and again in the 2014 tournament. The Philippines have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup.
Fairfield College Preparatory School is a Jesuit preparatory school located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all-male school of about 800 students, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942.
The Fairfield Stags are the athletic programs representing Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Most of the programs are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and classified as Division I (non-football) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
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