Garrett Bender (born December 2, 1991) is an American rugby union player who plays for the United States national rugby sevens team.
| Date of birth | December 2, 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Minneapolis, MN, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bender was born and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended Minneapolis Washburn High School where he played several sports; in American football he was team captain, All-Conference, All-Metro, and ranked third in state in tackles; he also captained his high school rugby team to the Minnesota High School State Championship.[1] Bender joined the Youngbloodz rugby team, where he was coached by Sam Robinson, who played an important part in Bender's rugby development.[2]
Bender was recruited and offered a scholarship in 2010 to play American football as a linebacker for the NCAA Division II St. Cloud State Huskies.[1] Bender, however, decided to focus on playing rugby.[2]
Bender signed a contract in early 2012 to play rugby for the U.S. national team.[3] Bender was part of the U.S. squad at the 2015 Pan American Games that qualified to play in the 2016 Olympics.[2]
He joined the Seattle Seawolves team for the inaugural season of Major League Rugby in 2018.[4]
Personal
editBender is the son of Michael Bender and Sue Marcks-Bender. He has one brother, Brant.
References
edit- ^ a b "Husky Football Announces 2010 Recruiting Class", St. Cloud State University, February 3, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Rugby moves toward Olympics with Minnesotans in tow", Star Tribune, Patrick Reusse, July 4, 2015.
- ^ "Details on 7s Contracts", Rugby Today, Pat Clifton, January 4, 2012.
- ^ "Seattle Seawolves Sign Olympian Garrett Bender". DJ Coil Rugby. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
External links
edit- Garrett Bender at Olympics.com
- Garrett Bender at Team USA (archive July 11, 2022)
- Garrett Bender at USA Rugby (archived August 11, 2021)
- Garrett Bender at Olympedia
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