NMT Rugby won its first match

With a young group of inexperienced players, the New Mexico Tech rugby team faced a daunting task in its efforts to add to its trophy case.

So it wasn’t all that surprising that the Miners came home from the national men’s Division III 7s Cup of the 2025 Collegiate Rugby Championship empty handed.

“It was a new experience and also a trying one to get these guys to understand the game of rugby, but more importantly to work as a team,” said coach Jason Oliphant. “That was the goal.”

Tech won its first match at the April 25-26 tournament in Maryland, beating Virginia Military Institute 10-5 with Bishop Ortega and Tristen Ludi-Herrera each scoring five points. Tech then lost to top seed Slippery Rock 29-5, sending the Miners into the consolation bracket.

John Carroll upended Tech 32-5 and the Miners tournament run came to an end against Cal Poly Humboldt with a 10-5 loss. They ended up eighth in the tournament, which was not a bad result, Oliphant said.

“Team work is the foundation of what we do,” he said. “Everything we do is for the good of the team and New Mexico Tech. This season, we picked up about eight or nine new players who were new to rugby.”

So achieving what they did is commendable, Oliphant said, adding all of the rugby rookies were part of the national tournament squad.

“Credit to these guys,” he said. “In our preseason, we always have camp two weeks before school starts so we don’t have much time to try and get them ready. They really struck to it and showed up with the right attitude. That makes them very coachable.”

What makes it an even more impressive showing is the role academic achievement played in their success.

“These guys carry very heavy academic course loads,” Oliphant said. “Very, very tough. The fact that these guys are able to execute on the field and in the classroom speaks volume about the character that these guys have.”

That being said, the tournament result is not entirely acceptable for a program that has a national title pedigree and high expectations

“We always strive to be better,” he said. “That’s one of the main tenets of the team. We’re always saying that we hunt for improvement. I’m extremely proud of these guys. This was the first time that they had this kind of exposure to a tournament of this nature so to be able to hold our own was good.”

Wing Akong Chundong, who is just finishing up his junior year, was one of the veterans on the team, although he was new to the sport before attending Tech. Of Cameroon descent, Chundong played football at Rio Rancho’s Cleveland High, earning a state championship his senior year.

But rugby really caught his fancy.

“It has been a great experience for me, meeting a bunch of new people, people with big hearts and people willing to let other people into their circle and brotherhood,” he said. “We have a bunch of leaders to take us from an early stage in rugby and help us to become a rugby athlete. It’s been an outstanding experience for me.”

Chundong, who was an All-American in the 15s, said rugby players have a special bond.

The environment I was grew up in, having sporting environment was what we did,” he said. “I tried a bunch of different sports and rugby brings everyone together with smiles on our faces. We look at each other and we look at our coaches as family.”

Chundong’s goal in the fall season is to try and attract more locals to come out to the home games and help the sport grow locally.

“One of the things I want and would be for New Mexico Tech is for people to come out and support,” he said. “I’d like to see more high school students get more involved in rugby here.”