Wheeling, W. Va. - Last weekend, some of the best Men's Rugby players from across the country converged on Atlanta, Georgia for the 2025 Collegiate Rugby All-Star Men's National Shield Challenge. The Wheeling University Men's Rugby team had five players participate in the event, playing for the Great Lakes Thunderbirds All-Star Team, which finished fourth overall in the tournament. The All-Star showcase released their All-Tournament team on Wednesday afternoon, and Wheeling's Michael Muleya made the list after a strong showing across the two-day event.
The event kicked off on Saturday, January 18th, with the Thunderbirds battling the Independent Whites and starting pool play with a 36-5 win. They would continue pool play with wins against the Mid-Atlantic Sharks (22-10) and the Tri-State Foundry (46-0) as they finished Pool Play as the top seed in Pool B at 3-0. They began the Championship bracket play on Sunday, January 19th, and opened things with a close 11-10 win over the Pac-Coast Grizzlies. They would move on to the semifinal match, where they played another close match with the Independent Reds, but this time came out on the losing end of an 18-14 matchup. This would move them to the third place game where they battled the Southeast Bears. The Thunderbirds once again battled, putting up 24 points, but it wasn't enough as they fell 29-24 to finish fourth in the tournament.
Michael Muleya would play a big role for the Thunderbirds across the two days of competition, finishing with three assists and two tries as he helped the Thunderbird earn fourth place in the tournament. His biggest showing of the tournament came in a match where he didn't record a point. Muleya would pick up three assists and played big on the defensive end in the team's 46-0 win over Tri-State Foundry. One of those assists would go to Wheeling teammate Navin Couch, who finished the final 20 meters of the run to pick up the score. He would also score his second try of the tournament in the team's final game, getting into the try zone against the Southeast Bears. Muleya has proven himself a force on defense throughout his time with Wheeling and showed off his skills on the national stage.
In total, 23 players were recognized as members of the Collegiate Rugby All Stars National Shield Challenge All-Tournament team, with three of those players coming from the Great Lakes Thunderbirds. Muleya was the only representative from Wheeling on the list, and the entire list of honorees is below:
The Wheeling University Men's Rugby team now has their eyes set on the upcoming 7's season, which kicks off on Saturday, March 8th, when they head to the Peach 7's.
