Women’s rugby alum Autumn Czaplicki has been invited to train at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.
Czaplicki trained with them back in January 2022 and competed for team USA at the Nextgen Sevens in Langford, British Columbia, Canada.
She also competed in the Garnet and Gold Classic in July 2022 on the USA women’s 2023 roster. Where she scored in Team USA’s 26–5 loss to the Queen’s Gaels.
She will stay at the Olympic training center for at least a month with the possibility of her stay being extended.
“It’s just like a big dream come true,” Czaplicki said in an interview with West Chester University Athletics.
Czaplicki was a standout player for the Golden Rams during her time at WCU. She finished her 15s career ranked 12th is career points with 192 through three seasons. She has 38 career trys and one successful conversion kick in 28 games.
She is ranked seventh in career 15s trys. Just in the 2019 season, she scored 13 tries in 9 games. She is tied for most tries in a single match with five tries scored in 2018 against Bloomsburg University.
She was a part of the 2019 championship team who went an undefeated 11–0 on the season to win WCU’s first national championship. She also helped lead the team in the 2021 15s season to another finals appearance.
Czaplicki was just as successful in rugby 7s as she was in 15s. On her 7s career she is second in career points with 286 points on 56 career tries and three successful conversions.
She is first in 7s career tries. Out of the top seven in the 7s record book in try scoring, Czaplicki has the lead with less games played. She has 37 games played; the next player, alum Lili Riley, has 59 games played.
In the 2019 7s season, Czaplicki scored 145 points, putting her in third in individual season scoring of all time. She has the record for most tries scored in a single 7s season from her 2019 campaign. Her 2022 season is third in most tries in a single season.
She has the record for most tries in a 7s match with four against StoneyBrook in 2020. In fact, of the top seven “most tries in a match record,” Czaplicki makes up five.
Ty Hickey is a second-year media and culture major with a minor in Chinese. ch983713@wcupa.edu