2023-24 Kevin Higgins College Scholarship Recipient: Quinn Spieker

After years of watching his father play touch rugby, Quinn Spieker’s interest in the sport was sparked. He joined the San Diego Mustangs at age seven and advanced through the club to his senior year of high school. Most notably, Quinn pioneered the Francis Parker High School Rugby Club, leading as team captain and earning MVP honors on three occasions. He helped lead Francis Parker to consecutive top three finishes within the Southern California Youth Rugby Championship 7s tournament. He was recognized as the 7s Back of the Year from Southern California Youth Rugby. 

“He first demonstrated his responsibility and dedication to the game when he helped start the program at Francis Parker High school. As a freshman, Quinn was not only the best player on the team but the main student driver of the program. He found parent support and recruited players to the program to get it off the ground. The weight of starting the program was a welcomed challenge and his consistency in being a leader of the program continually grew from day one. During his junior and senior year, there was a week of practice where no coaches were able to attend. Under the supervision of an athletic trainer with no real support, Quinn ran those practices in an exemplary fashion. Not one report of kids out of line or wasting time and by all accounts, the practices were as efficient as if I had been there myself. He earned respect from his teammates and when presented with the opportunity, used it in the most responsible way in leading by example with an incredible capacity to care about his team,” said Ben Pinkelman, Francis Parker High School Rugby Head Coach. 

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Spieker graduated from Francis Parker High School in San Diego, California with a 3.82 GPA. He earned academic honors in all four years of his high school tenure. In addition to rugby, Quinn was a decorated cross-country runner, helping Francis Parker make it to the state finals on two occasions. He also set the school record for fastest 5K time completed by a freshman. He was an active volunteer with the philanthropic organization, Teen Volunteers in Action, collaborating with a variety of local service-based organizations in his community. 

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He will follow in his father’s footsteps, as he attends the University of California, Berkeley. While playing for the Cal Golden Bears, Quinn will pursue a career in business. “As for goals going forward, I would like to make the starting teams for the Cal 7s and 15s programs sometime in the next four years. Aside from the obvious growth in strength and skill that will take place in that time, I hope to grow more to become an even better teammate, leader, and role model on and off the field. Looking beyond college, my dream would be to get a crack at the USA 7s program,” said Spieker.