While most Dartmouth students were enjoying Winter Carnival weekend, one Dartmouth senior was representing his country thousands of miles away -- and not in Torino.
Last weekend Dartmouth rugby football club co-captain and collegiate All-American Joe Killefer '06 earned his first cap playing for the United States National Rugby Team in the USA Sevens Tournament at The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
The tournament featured sides from five different continents and boasted rugby powerhouses England, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, among others.
Killefer first saw action in the final minutes of a 45-0 loss to eventual tournament champion England. He played the second half in a 24-19 loss against Uruguay and a 26-12 loss to Kenya, and played the entire game in a 33-0 win against Mexico.
The United States finished the tournament with four losses, one win and one tie. Killefer did not score a try in the tournament but did have several successful poaches.
Although the United States posted only one win, Killefer still enjoyed the experience of playing for his country.
"Representing the U.S. is awesome, especially with the home crowd in Los Angeles," Killefer said. "Anytime you put on a red, white and blue jersey there is a sense of pride."
Killefer described the entire call-up process as a whirlwind journey. He received a call from Albert Caravelli, head coach of the USA Sevens team, at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, saying that he had a seat on a 7 a.m. flight the next day.
Killefer's call-up represented not only a personal achievement but also a collective accomplishment for the Dartmouth club as a whole.
"Having a Dartmouth player on the national sevens team is a big confidence boost for us as players," Dartmouth club captain Jesse Blom '06 said. "To us, Joe is just another guy on the team, who runs, passes, kicks and giggles with the rest of us. To know that he can play on a national level lets us know that we are pretty damn good players also."
Killefer's success is not without precedent. Dartmouth head coach Alexander Magelby '00 is the current assistant coach and former captain of the USA Sevens team. Magelby's former teammate at Dartmouth, Kevin Whitcher '99, also played alongside Killefer this weekend in Los Angeles.
"Joe's call-up to the national team shows the continued strength of Dartmouth's program," Dartmouth assistant coach Bradley Hogate '05 said. "We have a long, successful tradition, and Joe's success and our strong performance over the past couple seasons shows that we will continue to be a force on the national stage."
Killefer began his rugby career in high school in southern California playing for the Santa Monica RFC and Cougars Youth Rugby. He began playing part-time at Dartmouth during his freshman spring and quit football to play rugby full-time in his junior spring.
In his junior season Killefer was named to the collegiate All-American team and participated in a New Zealand rugby tour the following summer. According to Hogate, Killefer's success comes from his unusual combination of size and speed.
"Joe has been successful because of his tenacity in the tackles, his open-field running ability and his endless motor," Hogate said. "It has been a pleasure to play with and coach Joe."
Blom offered a different perspective.
"What characterizes Joe most as a player is his oversized, goofy grin and his long, flowing, golden locks, which he ties back with athletic wrap during practice and games," Blom said. "His style alone, learned and adopted mostly from his fellow Dartmouth ruggers, specifically Daniel Correa '05, often catches the defense off-guard, allowing him to score with ease."
Killefer has no specific plans for future appearances with the national team but remains optimistic about a possible call-up for the World Cup in Hong Kong this March.
Killefer will now return to the Dartmouth rugby winter training regimen which features four to five practices a week. The club is currently preparing for the Ivy League Championship in April as well as a national Sweet 16 match-up against No. 5 Ohio State.
