Sussex, WI–Five players from Hamilton RFC, won all-state honors after being names to the Wisconsin Girls’ Rugby State All-State Team, recognizing the best rugby players in the state. Hamilton RFC had only two players named to the team last season, but that number increased to five after a season that saw the squad finish third in state.
Hannah Pfersch became the only Hamilton RFC player to be award this honor in multiple seasons. Elise Rades, Morgan Price, Savanna Thorne, and Sydney Raymond were selected for the first time in their career.
Hannah Emberts, who attends Hamilton High School, was also selected. She plays for the Brookfield Bruisers, a team she has played with before Hamilton had their own team.
Hannah Pfersch
Pfersch, junior, served as team captain for the second straight year and was one of two Hamilton RFC players who were made the 2017 All-State Team. She primarily played as a prop and 8. She did play one game as outside center. This season, she was 2nd on the team in tackles, 3rd in minutes played, 2nd on the team in tackles per minute, and third in tries scored. She scored a try in the 2018 Wisconsin Girls’ Rugby 3rd place game and was named MVP of the match. Pfersch capped off her season by winning the team’s “2018 MVP Forward Award,” awarded to Hamilton RCF’s best player who played primarily as a forward.
View Hannah Pfersch’s Line Break in the Season Opener
Morgan Price
Price, senior, played in her first season of rugby after winning two state titles for Hamilton in track and field. She used her speed to be 1st on the team in line breaks, and the six tries she scored was the most on the team. Among backs, she was 1st in tackles per hour and 3rd among backs in percentage of tackles made. Price primarily played at wing, but by the end of the season she was playing as the team’s inside center. Price set a team record with 18 tackles in a playoff game (CMH, 10/19). She scored the game winning try against CMH to open the season in an exhibition sevens game against CMH at Grove Field, and she scored a pair of tries in the team’s 52-5 win against Stevens Point in the 2018 Wisconsin Girls’ Rugby 3rd place game. Price finished the season by winning the team’s “2018 MVP Back Award,” awarded to Hamilton RCF’s best player who played primarily in the backfield.
View Morgan Price’s Incredible 50m Dash at State
Elise Rades
Rades, senior, played her first season in one of the sport’s most complicated and demanding roles, scrum half. She quickly learned how to manage the game, helping lead the team to its best record in the team’s short history. She finished 2nd on the team in tries scored. Her most notable tries came against CMH to open the season in an exhibition sevens game against CMH at Grove Field and a try against CMH in state semi-finals. She is the only player in team history to have scored multiple career tries against CMH’s varsity side. Rades was named one of the MVPs of the 2018 Wisconsin Girls’ Rugby 3rd place game and won the team’s “All-star Senior Award,” awarded to the best senior who did not win one of the team’s two MVP trophies.
View Elise Rades Scoring the First 15s Try of Her Career
Sydney Raymond
Raymond, senior, won the team’s “2018 Most Improved Award” by leading the team with 69 tackles, 15 tackles per hour, and was 2nd on the team in percentage of tackles made (94.5%). Last season, she only had 12 with 85% accuracy. Raymond set a team regular season record when she recorded 25 tackles against Pulaski, blowing out the previous record of 11 (jointly held by Pfersch, Lauren Leonardi, and Mykayla Pena). She primarily played as a lock and served as one of the team’s assistant captains this season.
Savanna Thorne
Thorne, senior, made a smooth transition from golf to rugby. In her first season she was 2nd on the team in minutes played, playing 335 of a possible 360 minutes. She 1st on the team in percentage of tackles made (98.15%) and was third on the team in tackles per hour (9.5). Her best performance of the season came when she registered 19 tackles in a game against Kettle Moraine (9/28). She primarily played as a lock.
Hamilton RFC 