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| Welcome to the home of the Linn-Benton Lions Boys Rugby Club. Founded in 2001, the Linn-Benton Lions is an after school program that is comprised of students from all high schools in the Mid-Willamette Valley. Each spring we play an eight game schedule and a pre-season tournament, all played on Saturdays. We begin training for the season in January and the season ends in early May with the State Championships. Since the beginning, the Lions have been developing players in the sport of rugby, which puts tremendous emphasis on sportsmanship, teamwork, and dedication. Our coaches have over twenty years in rugby, playing and coaching. We look forward to giving your sons the rugby experience. _______________________________________________________________________ History of Linn Benton Rugby In 2001, the Corvallis Lions Rugby Club was formed; thanks to a donation of league entry costs from the Corvallis Lions Club. In respect to this donation the nickname Lions was selected. Coached by Amanda McKerigan and Joey Webber the team went undefeated and claimed the state championship in its first season. Interest in the team soon swelled outside of Corvallis as boys from Jefferson, Lebanon, Philomath and Albany joined the team. Coach Dave Malone took over the squad in 2002, joined by Joe Alvernaz in 2004. In 2004, the team became the Linn-Benton Rugby Club to recognize the widening interest in Linn and Benton Counties. The Lions are consistently on of Oregon�s top teams on and off the field. In eight seasons the team has a state title, six state playoff appearances and in 2005 & 2006 were on the short end of tiebreakers for the state tournament. Success does not go unrewarded, the Lions have produced All-State players in 2002 (2) , 2003 (1), 2004 (1), 2005 (1) and 2006 (4). In 2006 Andrew Lunnsman, lock/#8, became the first Pacific NW �Logger� All-Star and participated in the national all-star tournament in Denver June 2006. In 2008 participation increased enough that we added a junior varsity team to our program. Since the beginning, the Lions have been developing players in the sport of rugby, which puts tremendous emphasis on sportsmanship, teamwork, and dedication. |
| Coaching Staff: Head Coach: Joe Alvernaz JV/Assistant: Luke Ketter Backs: Scott Nyquist Fitness/Forwards: Mike Daniels Assistant: David Takush |