Missoula Rugby Tournament Raises Awareness for Suicide
On Saturday, 18 rugby teams from across the state gathered at the Washington-Grizzly stadium for a tournament to raise awareness for those at risk of suicide.
The tournament was founded last year by the brother of Missoula high school student Jack Riekena.
Riekena took his own life in 2012. He was known for his passion for rugby and played for the local Mud Dogs.
This year, a friend of Riekena, Chance Aune, wanted to carry on the tradition and hopes to see the tournament keep growing.
"He was an awesome kid, like he was the kind of kid that anybody would want to talk to. Always had a smile on his face, brightest personality. He was the brightest kid. Nothing ever got to him," said Aune.
"It's been a real big wake up call for our team, for our community and certainly this is an issue statewide," said Jake Kreilick with Missoula Youth Rugby.
Aune says that his goal was to raise $2,000 for suicide prevention. He's already raised $8,000.
On Saturday night at 6:15 p.m. Aune says they will hold a ceremony dedicated to suicide prevention. That will be at the University of Montana's east auxiliary gym.