Garrett Bender
| 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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Garrett Bender (born December 2, 1991) is an American rugby union player who plays for the United States national rugby sevens team.
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
[edit]Bender 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
 | This United States rugby union biography is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1991 births
- Living people
- Olympic rugby sevens players for the United States
- United States international rugby sevens players
- Male rugby sevens players
- Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Rugby sevens players at the 2015 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in rugby sevens
- Sportspeople from Minneapolis
- Rugby union players from Minnesota
- American rugby union biography stubs