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Ex-Vikings star in rugby at Franciscan

Two Venango Catholic High School graduates — Zachary Freeman and Eric Paskie — were members of the Franciscan University rugby team, which took third place in the National Small College Rugby Organization national championships.

Freeman, who graduated from Franciscan University last week, played four seasons for the Barons while Paskie completed his second season.

"I still had the football bug when I went to college, but they didn't have a football team," Freeman said. "I needed a collision sport, so I signed up for rugby. I didn't know what I was doing in the beginning, but eventually I learned to love it."

Freeman, who graduated from Venango Catholic in 2007, served as a flanker and hooker on the rugy squad. "The football equivalent to those positions would be a wide receiver and a center," he said.

Paskie, a 2009 graduate of Venango Catholic, played a lot of wing and some at scrummy, the football equivalent to quarterback.

Franciscan University qualified for the nationals in the fall, winning both their matchups in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.

The Final Four championships were held April 28-29 in Glendale, Colo., where the Barons dropped a 29-20 decision to Salve Regina University. However, Franciscan bounced back to beat North Florida University, 29-5, in the consolation game to finish third in the nation.

Originally published in The Derrick on May 18, 2012.

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