Liz Dunn, currently of Pittsburgh, played varsity soccer at WAHS during her sophomore, junior, and senior years, graduating in the class of 2008.

After suffering a spinal-cord injury in a car crash, she still wanted to compete.

“I have always been active,” Dunn said. “After my injury I wanted to find a way to continue to be active and was introduced to wheelchair rugby by a friend — Katie Smith — that I met in Pittsburgh. She played with the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers and convinced me to come by some practices and check it out.”

“In 2017 two players from the National team — Chuck Aoki and Joe Delagrave — reached out to me asking if I’d be interested in trying out for USAWR,” she said. “While I didn’t make it the first two times I tried, I was invited to several development opportunities which helped me learn and improve. Additionally, I transferred to play with the Texas Stampede based in Austin, Texas, for club ball.”

Liz Dunn, a 2008 graduate of Warren Area High School, and member of the USA Wheelchair Rugby team, defends an opponent.

“That gave me even more experience as they are a Division I team,” she said.

It paid off.

“Because of all of this work, I was named to the team for the first time in 2020, and have continued to make it,” Dunn said.

Aoki is now a teammate and Delagrave is now her coach.

This year, Dunn has competed in Medellin, Colombia, and Birmingham, Ala.

Photos courtesy of Lakeshore Foundation Liz Dunn, a 2008 graduate of Warren Area High School, competes with the USA Wheelchair Rugby team.

This month, Dunn was with her teammates in Denmark, at the World Championships.

“It was an incredible experience to have been chosen to go,” she said. “There are 16 athletes on the training team and 12 are chosen to travel to competitions.”

The team finished second at Worlds — losing to Australia in the finals.

“Playing in my first world championships was amazing,” Dunn said. “Joe Delagrave is a great coach and I’ve learned so much from him. While we were hoping for gold, getting silver is still incredible.”

Another teammate is Sarah Adam. Together, Dunn and Adam were the first women to play for the USA in the World Championships.

Next up, Paris. “One goal is definitely to make the team for the Paris Paralympics in 2024.”