Red, White, And Blue Teams Named For Can-Ams
Red, White, And Blue Teams Named For Can-Ams
Three U18 boys teams will play at the Saranac Lake Can-Ams to help put together the USA Youth Olympics team.
The Red, White, and Blue Boys U18 teams have been selected—or, rather, drafted—for this weekend's Saranac Lake Can-Ams in Upstate New York.
The final game of this round-robin Youth Olympics trial will be shown LIVE on FloRugby on Sunday as part of our Can-Ams Finals Day coverage.
The teams will be playing a series of sevens games through the weekend at the stories Saranac Lake tournament.
Under the oversight of USA age-grade Director JD Stephenson, three separate coaches will run their respective teams and drafted players into their lineups. Here are the rosters:
Red
Coach: Brendan Keane
Elijah Billups - Play Rugby USA (NY)
Will Chevalier - Neuqua (IL)
Max Clark - UK
Lauina Falatea - Kahuku (HI)
Charles Keaweehu - Kahuku (HI)
Isaia Kruse - San Joaquin Memorial (CA)
Jon Rodriguez - Play Rugby USA (NY)
Junior Waqavesi - CK McClatchy (CA)
Led by the excellent playmaker Junior Waqavesi, the Red team also has another player with vision and a good boot in Chevalier. Billups and Rodriguez combined well for the Play Rugby team and have significant sevens experience.
White
Coach: David Fee
Tyrel Al-Jiboori - Union HS (OK)
Shane Barry - UK
Jasper Green - SFGG (CA)
Dylan Hendricks - Pulaski HS (WI)
Johnny Mahe - Kahuku (HI)
Zach Neff - CK McClatchy (CA)
Ulu Niutupuivaha - Kahuku (HI)
Cole Semu - Chuckanut (WA)
Blue
Coach: Shalom Suniula
Dante Bandoni - Granite Bay (CA)
Alex Cleary - Chuckanut (WA)
Kenji Ellison - Elk Grove (CA)
Junior Gafa - San Pedro (CA)
Lewis Gray - Jupiter (FL)
Vili Hapoi - Jesuit Sacramento (CA)
Dylan Ramirez - South Bay (CA)
Wei Stanton - Ridgeline (CO)
Ben Weiranga - Valley Center (CA)
Suniula has gone for power in selecting this lineup, with the rangy Bandoni providing ability in the air and carrying the ball. Alex Cleary is an imposing figure for defenses to bring down, and Stanton is athletic and good in the air.
The extended roster for the Youth Olympics (to be held this fall in Buenos Aires) will be named after this tournament and pared down to the final travel squad shortly thereafter.