In the world of sports, winning is always the goal, but was not at the forefront on Saturday, April 14 for the Longwood Rugby Football Club. Hosting the Todd Miller Memorial Tournament for the first time in five years, both men's and women’s teams aimed to celebrate the legacy of a fallen teammate.
The tournament is dedicated to former team member and Longwood student Todd Miller, who tragically lost his life in 2008 after suffering a head injury during a match at Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
Ellie Miller, Todd Miller's mother, was in attendance for the tournament and was appreciative of the great turnout.
“I feel very joyful, and very blessed to know that Todd could make such an impact on Longwood, and on the game of rugby here, and on these young men and women," said Miller. "I couldn’t ask for a better son."
She continued, “He loved the game, and once you love something, you work at it really, really hard which is what he did, and he became very good."
Miller believes her son discovered a new love for the game of rugby while attending the annual involvement fair on campus.
“He must have stopped by that tent, and thought it sounded good, enjoyed the comradery, then right away he had a niche," Miller said. "And once you find that in school, it makes everything better."
Teams including James Madison University, William & Mary, NC State, Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University and VMI all took part in the April 14 tournament.
Both Longwood teams were unable to win the championship in their respective divisions, as the men’s team fell in the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO) finals to JMU, while the women placed second in their division after losing 10-5 to VMI in overtime.
To directly pass on the legacy of Todd Miller, the club handed out a $1,000 scholarship to a male and female from the teams on campus.
This year’s recipients of the scholarship was sophomore J.C. Siles and junior Bridget Dunn.
“It means a lot actually, because I met the first winner of the Todd Miller scholarship the night of the tournament, and he just bestowed a great honor to me after we talked a lot. I really felt there was a deep history in Longwood Rugby,” said Siles.
Although he didn't know Miller personally, Siles acknowledges the continuing legacy Miller left behind at Longwood and the impact he made on the rugby team.
“Personally, I wasn’t in school early enough to ever know about Todd Miller, but his legacy runs really deep throughout Longwood Rugby, and every day I aspire to be like Todd Miller on and off the field,” said Siles.
Club Captain John Fredrikson said at conclusion of the season, Longwood Men’s Rugby finished second in the NSCRO series for the spring semester.
“The overall tournament went really well with all of the different divisions, and it all ran really smoothly and there weren’t any problems with the brackets or anything, so that was really good,” he said.
Fredrikson said he hopes to start having the tournament to honor Miller on an annual basis from now on after the tournament's five-year absence.
Longwood Rugby Football Club starts tournament to honor fallen teammate Todd Miller for the sixth time.
Ellie Miller, Todd Miller's mom, was impressed by the turnout for the tournament to honor her son.
