As he hangs up his cleats and picks up his spikes, junior Leighton Johnson anticipates the upcoming track season after his soccer team was eliminated in regional play against Bishop Moore on Feb. 12.

“My expectations for track are high, even after losing a lot of talented seniors,” he said. “Fortunately, we have a lot of new faces that could easily get used to high school level track.”

One of those new faces — freshman Brock Emer — also played on the varsity soccer team, and plans to use that experience to boost his track performance.

The decorated history of the soccer team would be enough to scare off most people, including the state championship victory just two years ago.  

“[Playing varsity soccer] was intimidating at first, considering West Shore’s success in the past, playing with all these upperclassmen on the soccer team,” he said. “Looking back at it though, this was a good way to prepare me for the track season.” 

By Scott Quigley