After seven wins and no losses in the regular season, the Durham Lords men’s rugby team fell to the Humber Hawks by a score of 26-14 in the gold medal championship on the weekend.
However, the women’s team was able to go all the way. They won gold in their provincial championship in October, defeating the Hawks by a score of 34-0.
Durham College’s women’s rugby team had a great run this season, winning all 17 games, including the final. This marks the team’s fourth provincial championship win in a row.
Head coach Chris McKee said he makes it a point to focus on skill-building with the team and spends the most time on defence.
“We really work hard on our defence, we have the best defence and our players take a lot of pride in that and put a lot of time and effort into becoming good defensive players,” he said.
Although every coach likes to win, McKee said he enjoys coaching because he gets to watch his players succeed. He takes pride in seeing them grow into good people.
“I really enjoy it because so many of our players I’ve gotten to coach since they were in Grade 9 and I take a lot of pride in the fact that they’ve had so much success.”
Amber Edgerton, a 911 Emergency & Call Centre Communications student, said the team has a strong connection. The back player said as serious as they are about winning, the team always make sure to have fun on the field.
“We always had each other’s backs, we were always looking out for each other, always making sure we’re good and we always say just have fun,” said Edgerton.
In her first year as a Lord (2024-2025), she won the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year award and this year she was named Athlete of the Week for the week of Oct. 27.
Edgerton said this season was “unforgettable.”
“Just because of everything we accomplished this year. We had confidence at the beginning of the season, and then to carry that through and accomplish everything we did I think is just amazing,” she said.
For the graduating players, winning another championship was a great way to end their final season.
Plumbing student and back player, Camryn Wood, is one of these players.
“Once I saw how everyone was wanting to achieve the same thing and everyone was putting their all in, that’s when I felt we really could continue the streak,” said Wood.
She was instrumental in the championship wins last year and this year, while also playing on the women’s basketball team.
Wood won last year’s Team-by-Team Leadership Awards for both women’s rugby and women’s basketball.
She said she’s honoured to have played on this year’s rugby squad.
“They’ve won four times so I came into it with them already winning a gold, so I wanted to make people of the past proud and continue the legacy,” she said. “So, to be a Lord, it’s also kind of special.”