The Rye boys rugby team easily defeated Chaminade High School 31-5 to claim the Tier II New York state rugby championship Saturday in Mount Vernon.
The game also marked the end of Jim O’Hara’s 10-year tenure at the helm of Rye’s rugby program. O’Hara left his role as Rye High School’s guidance counselor and rugby coach at the end of the 2024-25 academic year to pursue an opportunity closer to his wife and children in New Jersey.
O’Hara has been the pied piper of high school rugby in Rye for a decade.
His departure is not only a big loss for Rye’s athletic department, but also for the high school’s counseling department and faculty. He came to Rye as a guidance counselor in 2012 and established the rugby program in 2015. His passion for the sport, his gifts as a teacher and coach, and his exemplary character will all be missed.
“My 10 years here at Rye High School have been the most meaningful and rewarding part of my professional career,” O’Hara said. “In this next phase of my life I’ll be closer to my wife and kids, which is my choice, but to have had the opportunity to contribute to the effort to build Rye rugby from the ground up, to build something really special, was the goal all along. Rye High School rugby — our coaches, players, and their families — will be one of the best memories of my whole life.”
The Tier II title the team won is a consolation prize for the Garnets, who lost their opening playoff game to Xavier, the eventual Tier I 2025 New York state champions.
“For my fellow coaches and our players this year, it’s absolutely been more about the journey, not the destination,” O’Hara said. “It always is. Yes, we wanted to win the Tier I championship this year, but it just wasn’t in the cards for us. I will never forget this team, the great senior leaders, as well as the largest freshman and sophomore classes we’ve ever had in my time here. The future of Rye rugby is extremely bright.”
The mostly one-sided game against a less-experienced but valiant Chaminade was a showcase of Rye’s interior strength, much-improved team passing, and wing speed — all of which have been on display all season. After closing the season with a win, the Rye boys were ranked by the Goff Rugby Report as the 18th best high school rugby team in the United States.
For senior Archer Fenton — easily one of the most complete rugby players in the northeastern United States — the game was bittersweet.
“Playing four years of rugby for Rye High School has meant everything to me,” said Fenton, who moved with his family from Australia to Rye in 2021. “It’s nice for the boys to win this one and finish on top today. It’s a special, special program to me and my family. For the rest of my life, I’ll be a proud part of Rye rugby, and Rye rugby will be a part of me.”
Fenton will continue his rugby career next season at Fairfield University.
