The University of Vermont men’s rugby team romped the University of Chicago last weekend, 71-5, to win its first-ever national championship. It’s the second time, notably, that a UVM sports team has won a national-level title in the past year.

Rugby is not a varsity sport at UVM — such as soccer or basketball — which means the school’s men’s and women’s teams play outside of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. The men’s team plays in National Collegiate Rugby’s Division II, which has more than 100 teams in different regional conferences across the country.

The team’s win Sunday capped an undefeated season that also saw it dispatch rivals in earlier rounds of the Division II tournament by double-digit margins.

“It really hasn’t even set in yet, still. Every time I see a picture or something, I’m like, holy — I can’t believe it,” said Jack Worobel, a senior mechanical engineering major at UVM who plays in the No. 4, or “lock,” position. “It’s awesome.”

In UVM’s rugby league, 15 players are on the field for each team at a time. Players advance the ball by running or kicking it but aren’t allowed to pass the ball forward. Points come primarily through “tries,” which are worth five points each and scored by bringing the ball into the opponent’s in-goal area and touching it to the ground.

Worobel credited UVM’s win to strong bonds that he said he and his teammates have built up over the past four years. A number of the players, including himself, have been on the team every year since they were first-year students, he said.

UVM has had a men’s rugby team since 1970, according to a school press release.

The University of Vermont men’s rugby team handily defeated the University of Chicago 71–5 to win its first ever national championship. Photo courtesy of National Collegiate Rugby

“We all do anything for each other. Anyone would do a favor for anyone else on this team — I think that’s where the win comes (from),” Worobel said Wednesday. “It’s not from the skill or the talents. Really, it’s what’s off the field.”

The rugby team’s win comes about a year after UVM’s men’s soccer team — which competes at the highest level of collegiate athletics — won the NCAA Division I championship last December. UVM has also won six NCAA championships in skiing, with the most recent coming in 2012.

Police are asking for the public’s help in their ongoing investigation into a stolen all-terrain vehicle in Derby, Vermont.

State police say they were notified around 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 that a Camouflage 2008 Yamaha Rhino 700 ATV had been stolen from a driveway on Main St. The theft occurred some time between 10 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 31.

No other details were immediately available. Police did released two photos as part of the investigation.

Anyone with information about this theft is encouraged to call Vermont State Police at 802-334-8881, or leave an anonymous tip online.

More than 5 feet of snow currently blanket Vermont’s tallest peak — the deepest powder in recorded history for Mount Mansfield on this date.

The Mount Mansfield snow stake hit 63 inches Thursday, said Burlington-based National Weather Service meteorologist Adrianna Kremer, more than 3 feet deeper than the average 22-inch depth expected this time of year. As of Tuesday, the snow depth at the stake was 61 inches, falling 2 inches due to compaction, Kremer added. 

“We do have such a good snow pack early in the season,” Kremer said. “But, as always, there’s a lot of variability as the season goes on.”

Vermont has seen significant snowfall so far this winter, with over 3 feet recorded in November in some areas of the northern Green Mountains, Kremer said. 

With 192 inches of overall snowfall Tuesday, Jay Peak has been graced with the most snow of any ski mountain in the U.S. so far this season, surpassing West Coast ski resorts in powder.

Northern Vermont ski resorts Smuggler’s Notch and Stowe are also keeping pace, with overall snowfall hitting 116 inches and 108 inches, respectively, as of Tuesday.

But warmer temperatures this Thursday will spur some snow melt. While that may bring modest river rise, Kremer said the service does not expect flooding, as the increase in temperature is predicted to be short-lived and this year’s powdery snow is less dense with liquid. 

Hazardous travel conditions could arrive Friday, though, Kremer warned, as the snap back to colder temperatures brings the potential for a flash freeze and bursts of snow.