Photos by Riley McDaniels – The Cal Poly Humboldt player celebrate their third-place win in Houston on Sunday.

The Cal Poly Humboldt men’s rugby team came up just short in its bid to retain the national championship the team won a year ago, but the Lumberjacks remain a force to be reckoned with.

The Humboldt men traveled to Houston this past weekend to compete in the National Collegiate Rugby Small College final four and placed third.

After dropping their semifinal to Wayne State, the same team they defeated in the 2022 final, the Jacks bounced back two days later to beat Catholic in the third-place game.

They lost to Wayne State by a score of 23-20 and then defeated Catholic 31-21.

The Jacks led against Wayne State 15-3, but their opponents came storming back thanks to a strong wind at their backs in the second half.

“We had a tough matchup against Wayne State,” assistant coach Vincent Celotto said. “They were better than last year.”

Making it back to the national final four was a big achievement on its own for a Humboldt team that graduated several seniors from the national championship winning side.

However, the Jacks lacked the depth to repeat.

“Wayne State had a lot of foreign players and a lot more depth, and they had a good game plan to kick the ball with the wind,” Celotto said. “But we had some really good goal line stands. I’m not going to be down on the guys.”

Wayne State would lose the final for the second straight year, this time falling to Babson, which came from behind to get the winning score in the dying seconds.

The Jacks finished another successful season with a record of 9-1, including a 5-0 record in the regular season and three wins in four playoff showdowns.

The coaches and players have plenty to feel proud of for a team that has now established  Cal Poly Humboldt rugby as one of the best small schools programs in the nation.

Photos by Riley McDaniels

“I’m real proud of how we are a tight family,” Celotto said. “It’s something we started last year and I’m seeing it roll over.

“With the numbers we had, after losing five or six starters last year, I can’t complain.”

Nathan Riley took home the team’s Heart and Soul Award from the final four tournament and epitomized his team’s performance in Houston.

“They played hard, all the guys,” Celotto said. “And we had to start some guys that were walk-ons, but we coached them up and they did well.”

The head coach of the team is Greg Pargee.