Tahna Wilfley ’25 will never forget watching the historic moment. 

It was July 30, 2024—the summer before her senior year at Kent Denver—and like many Americans around the country, she was glued to her TV watching the Olympic Games in Paris. But this particular event held great importance for her. 

It was the women’s rugby sevens bronze medal match between Team USA and Australia—in just the third Games to ever feature the 7 vs. 7 format since its Olympic debut in Rio in 2016. Before that, rugby was last included in the Olympics in 1924, with 15 players to a side. 

With the clock winding down, and Australia leading 12-7, it looked like hope was lost for the U.S. women. That is, until Alex Sedrick—nicknamed “Spiff”—made one of the greatest athletic plays you’ll ever see. She broke two tackles and ran the length of the field for the 5-point try as time expired, and the ensuing conversion gave Team USA the win and the bronze medal. It was the first-ever U.S. women’s rugby Olympic medal and Team USA’s first Olympic rugby medal—for the men or women—in over 100 years. 

Watching at home in Denver with her dad, then 17-year-old Tahna—daughter of former men’s professional rugby player Link Wilfley '98—was overjoyed, jumping up and down and yelling at the TV. 

“It was so cool that it was a nail-biter because I think it shows the U.S. women’s grit,” said Tahna, who, now less than two years later, is teammates with Spiff and some of the other amazing women from that Paris squad. At just 19 years old, Tahna is one of 19 elite women’s rugby players in the 2026 USA Women’s Eagles Sevens player pool—training and competing full-time in hopes of representing Team USA at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

“A big thing I felt watching the Paris Games is that these girls represent the best of America, and you can see it on the field. Watching that game, you could just feel the love and the work ethic and perseverance. It was amazing.”

For Tahna, that moment was a reminder of the power of sports. But more importantly, it also served as something to aspire to in her own professional rugby journey—one that started when she was just six years old. 

A Family of Athletes

Sports have always been an integral part of the Wilfley family story. Tahna’s mom, Brooke, was a strong field hockey player and track and field athlete growing up, and is now the founder and president of ACES Sports Academy in Littleton. 

Her dad, Link, was a former USA Eagle on the men’s national rugby team in the early 2000s. He also played professionally in Rotherham, England. So you can guess what sport Tahna and her twin brother, Reid ’25, were introduced to at a young age. 

“I was like, ‘Why not give rugby a shot?’ And it stuck,” said Tahna, who started playing shortly after Reid did when the pair turned six years old. “At that age, it’s basically like flag football but rugby, and it’s mostly just a place where little kids can run around and let out all their energy so that their parents can get them to bed later.” 

A sound strategy for two busy parents, especially when you consider that Tahna and Reid also have three younger brothers, the youngest of whom will be joining Kent Denver this fall as a ninth grader. All five kids are strong athletes, and Tahna says the sport of rugby helped her feel deeply connected to her family—in her words, ‘just like one of the boys.’

She also competed with the boys—playing on competitive boys teams until she was 15. By then, her skill and strength were apparent, and so was her passion for the game. 

“I always liked the people and the community, and it brought me closer to my dad and my siblings,” Tahna said. “But when I got into high school, I was just like, ‘This is fun! Why would I stop?’”

The Journey

Tahna’s rise as a rugby player has coincided with the sport’s rise in popularity here in the United States. By her junior year at Kent Denver, she was excelling at the club level for the Colorado Gray Wolves. She later won a national championship with the team in the fall of 2024—helping her squad defeat the All Blues to win the Legacy Cup. The event was hosted by Women’s Elite Rugby—which was set to launch the first professional women’s rugby league in the country that following spring. 

The new league—which took the place of the previous “pay to play” Women’s Premier League—debuted its inaugural pro season in the spring of 2025 as a 15 vs. 15 format, featuring six teams. One of which just happened to be located in Tahna’s hometown. 

As a high school senior, she was invited to try out for the Denver Onyx. She made the team at 17-years-old, making her the youngest person on the 29-player roster and one of the youngest players in the entire league. 

Thus began her journey as a professional athlete—one she’d have to balance while finishing up her Kent Denver education. 

“I got so much support from teachers while traveling for games,” Tahna said about the pro season, which began in March of 2025 and featured 10 regular season matches—including road games against each of the opposing teams in New York, Boston, California, Chicago and Minnesota. “Without Ms. Haas, Dr. Gubitz, Ms. Schreuder and all those teachers who helped me with my classes, there’s no way I could have gotten through Kent Denver.”

While she couldn’t be at graduation—no surprise, she was traveling for rugby—Tahna earned her diploma in June. A few weeks later, she won a national championship with the Onyx. It was a historic moment for professional women’s rugby in the United States, and yet another milestone moment for Tahna, as she continued to be recognized for her outstanding play. 

No Half Measures

By the time she hoisted that championship trophy, Tahna was already firmly in the USA Rugby pipeline. 

This past August, she was named to the roster to represent the Team USA Women’s Sevens Junior National Team at the Junior PanAm Games in Paraguay. The Americans won silver.

She then tried out for the USA Rugby Women’s Eagles Sevens national team—and made it. 

With weeks to go until she was set to begin her freshman year of college at the University of San Diego, Tahna was left with a decision: go to college or pursue rugby full-time? 

“I grew up understanding that school comes first and rugby comes second,” said Tahna, recalling the conversations she had with her mom when facing the big decision. “This was always true at Kent Denver. But after I tried out and made the national team, she saw how much it meant to me and how much I wanted to pursue it. At that point, it wasn’t even a debate. It was just a conversation of her saying, ‘I’m so proud of you. And if this is what you want to do, I’ll support you.’”

That is, with one stipulation. 

“She said, ‘I still expect you to go to school after you’re done playing rugby,’” laughed Tahna, who fully intends to deliver on her mom’s wish. “College is obviously very important. But for me, I’m blessed that I can go to college whenever I want. And right now, on my path and my journey, following my dream to play professional rugby and travel the world, it’s an opportunity I can’t pass up.

“There was a lot of talk about doing both, but I don’t want to half-do anything. I don’t want to take online school on the side and get kind of a good education and do kind of good in rugby. I want to be a really good rugby player, and then, when the time comes, I want to be a really good student.”

So it was settled. She was all in.

Looking Toward LA

This past year has been busy for the rising rugby star. Tahna is living and training full-time at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in California, about 30 minutes southeast of San Diego. The facility is one of just 10 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic training sites around the country. 

She lives in one of two team houses funded by USA Rugby. Each day consists of a jam-packed training schedule—with different sessions focused on speed, cardio, weights and sport-specific development. 

For Tahna, it’s all with one goal in mind: to be a U.S. Olympian in Los Angeles in 2028. 

“For me, it’s about being patient and working hard,” said Tahna, currently one of the youngest players in the Eagles Sevens pool. “My shot for 2028 is looking up to the older girls and learning as much as I can. And if it’s not 2028, the goal is 2032 (the Brisbane Summer Olympics). I’m just happy to be a part of the community for whatever role they want me to play in.”

Right now, that’s the position of fly half in rugby sevens—considered the primary playmaker and leader on the field. 

“It’s kind of like the quarterback in football, but maybe not as hard,” laughed Tahna, who has played pretty much every position during her rugby career. “The fly half’s job is to read the field, and that comes with experience and timing. In rugby, playing 15 players to a side is more physical—a lot of bash-bash-bash. Sevens is more tactical and more of an athletic sport in terms of open field tackling, which I think suits me well. I’m just taking everything in and trying to learn from the girls around me.”

She’s already done so with great success. In March, Tahna played a major part in the USA Women’s Eagles winning back-to-back bronze medals in the HSBC SVNS Series—first in Vancouver, Canada and then on their home turf in New York City. 

The latter was an experience she will never forget. 

“It was really cool to see because that U.S. crowd was amazing, and it was solely for the women’s team,” said Tahna. “That means a lot to me personally because it shows that little girls are watching, and it’s so cool to be on this journey for them. I look up to so many girls on my team—folks who are two-time Olympians and more—and to see younger girls also look up to them and be there in the crowd with signed jerseys from two years ago, it shows how this community of women can create something so powerful—full of love and work ethic. It’s a bunch of great values that these girls get to watch at such a young age.”

Inspiring the Next Generation

Rugby is a tough, physical game. It’s also a sport that values camaraderie and teamwork. The challenge and the shared success with friends are big reasons why the sport has exploded recently in the United States—evidenced by the fact that USA Rugby now has over 130,000 members nationwide. 

Growing up in a rugby family, and seeing now how the game has evolved and grown over the years—particularly among women and girls around the world—is a point of pride for Tahna. 

“It means so much to me and means so much to my values and the values of my team,” Tahna said. “There’s really a focus on leaving the sport better than we found it—allowing the next generation of girls to grow into this in a really strong and positive environment. And this is already happening. If I go watch a girls' club now, these girls at these young ages would smoke the version of me at that same age.”

That is striking humility for someone who’s already achieved so much success at such a young age. But with Olympic aspirations, it’s a quality that should serve her well. Fresh out of high school and still grappling with her status as a pro athlete, Tahna often finds herself in awe of her teammates. 

“It’s such a cool experience and such a blessing to learn from these amazing athletes and amazing women,” said Tahna, mentioning teammates like Sarah Levy, who has her doctorate in physical therapy, and Ariana Ramsey, who runs her own private business. “We have girls from the Army. We have girls who are coming back to play who are mothers. It’s really cool that these women have gotten to do so much with their lives.”

After their success at the end of the HSBC SVNS Series, the Women’s Eagles are now competing in this year’s Rugby SVNS World Championship events. Tahna and Team USA took fifth in Hong Kong in April and will now look forward to the next two tournaments in Spain May 29-31 and then France June 5-7. From there, it’s just two years until the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where Team USA will bring 12 players on its active roster, along with two reserves. 

Until then, Tahna will continue the grind—learning, growing and developing in the sport she’s loved since she was a little girl. And perhaps this time, when Team USA is rallying for a come-from-behind victory and a chance at an Olympic medal, Tahna won’t be watching in front of a TV. Just maybe, she’ll be on the field. 

Photos courtesy of Tahna Wilfley '25, with credit to USA Rugby, the Colorado Gray Wolves and the Denver Onyx.