SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Iowa Central rugby squad made an eye-opening statement at the Fighting Irish 7s last weekend, posting a perfect record in the Premier Division.

The Tritons defeated Michigan (14-10), Notre Dame (19-7), Indiana (19-0) and defending national champion Wheeling (21-17) on a chilly, rainy day in a tournament hosted by UND. Head coach Brent Nelson’s team emerged as gold medalists from a field of 16 in the top-level bracket.

“The defense got better and better throughout the day and multiple players stood out,” Nelson said. “Our restarts really helped us and we have worked hard on them all year.”

Sophomore All-American Takudzwa Musingwini earned “Man of the Tournament” honors, with Rashon Jennings also leading the way offensively in tries.

“We started off slow against Michigan, with Taku scoring and converting with only 30 seconds left in the first half,” Nelson said. “Michigan answered in the second half, but Rashon dotted down not long after (to help seal the win).”

Iowa Central dominated its quarterfinal and semifinal matches versus the host Fighting Irish and Hoosiers. The Tritons held Notre Dame scoreless until the final two minutes of the match, and Musingwini (two tries) and Jennings (one) did more than enough to push the squad through.

Indiana was blanked by the Tritons in the semifinals, as Musingwini, Jennings and Vince Jacoby recorded tries in the dominant performance.

Iowa Central took an early lead on Wheeling in the finals on a Jennings try and a Musingwini conversion. Wheeling went up 10-7 at intermission thanks to a pair of tries, but Musingwini responded early in the second half with another try.

Wheeling again answered with a try and a conversion, and held a 17-14 advantage until the very end of regulation.

“We stayed calm, cool and collected and marched the length of the field with time running out,” Nelson said. “Taku got the ball on the left side and everybody thought he would try to win it. However, Taku drew the defense in and gave a pinpoint pass to Jennings, who was in perfect position to score the winning try with no time left.”

Musingwini added the conversion for the final margin of victory.

“Taku and Rashon had stellar tournaments scoring all the tries, but this was a team win,” Nelson said. “Individually, (Webster City graduate) Isaac Firsching has really stepped up. He is extremely hard working and coachable in practice.

“Also, (Fort Dodge Senior High grad) Drayton Miller had a great tournament and earned a job with the A side. These two former Fort Dodge Stags (Firsching and Miller) have done all the little things to help this team win. I’m very proud of them not just for how well they’re doing rugby wise, but also how they buy into the team-first concept.”

Iowa Central returns to action on Sunday, April 13, at the Big Rivers Conference Championships in Indianapolis. The Tritons will then compete in the Collegiate Rugby Championship National 7s Tournament as a repeat Premier Cup qualifier. The squad placed fourth there last year.

The CRCs are April 25-27 in the Washington D.C. area.