LINFIELD UNIVERSITY WRESTLING VERSUS PACIFIC • NOVEMBER 10, 2022

WILDCAT SPOTLIGHT

a forever friend

During her four years as a member of the Linfield soccer team, Erin Isbister has found her voice as well as her passion

by MARISSA DOLSON ’24

rin Isbister has explored and learned many passions throughout her journey at Linfield University. She considered a broad range of opportunities within her major, leading to some pretty compelling career choices.

As Isbister approaches her last semester at Linfield, she is one step closer to earning her degree in exercise science. When she first arrived at Linfield in the fall of 2019, Isbister had her heart set on attending a physical therapy school and becoming a physical therapist. But the vast opportunities Linfield presented allowed for room to explore new and interesting passions.

“Through my time at Linfield, I learned about different career paths,” she says. “I learned that I didn’t love physical therapy as much as I thought. Through connections I made at Linfield, I found something that I’m very passionate about and absolutely love. I’m now planning on becoming a medicolegal death investigator.”

Though it may sound morbid to some, the role of a medicolegal death investigator is to explore the causes of suspicious, violent, unexplained or unexpected deaths.

Before coming to Linfield, Isbister says she was very shy and introverted. The small class sizes allowed her to flourish and become comfortable building relationships with class mates and professors.

Isbister is among a large senior class on the women’s soccer team. Although she faced challenges at times in the classroom, her teammates describe her as very outgoing and vocal when she’s in a competitive atmosphere on the soccer field.

“Erin can be loud and exuberant when she wants to be,” says her fellow goalkeeper Emma Mulligan. “Once you truly get to know her, she is weirder and more amazing than you could have imagined. She’s full of knowledge, some of which you don’t want to question. I be lieve that she’s a true example of a lifelong learner.”

Isbister hasn’t always just played soccer. She had started out figure skating. As a third-grader, Isbister found she had a competitive drive that would fuel her as she grew older and older.

“My mom got me started in skating when I was 3,” she says, looking back. “My dad was deployed in Iraq and skating was a way to keep me busy and not miss my dad as much. I skated competitively for six

years until I was 9. It got to the point where I was going to the rink early in the morning before school and again in the after noon and that was a lot for me as a third grader. I went to one of my friend’s soccer tournaments one weekend, came home, and told my mom ‘I want to try that.’ So they signed me up for soccer the next season. I still like to go ice skating for fun.”

Since breaking out of her shell and becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable, Isbister has made the most of her time and relationships. As her time at Linfield draws to a close, Isbister says she is grateful for the people she’s met along the way and those who have supported her.

“The relationships I’ve built with teammates and class mates have made my experience that much more memorable. I have made lifelong friends (at Linfield) that have ultimately changed my life.”

Isbister is supported by her mother, Keri, and her father, John. Back home in Orange, California, her parents are her

model. Growing up, I always looked up to her and how hard she worked to achieve her goals and knew I wanted to work hard just like her.”

Isbister’s extracurricular activities have also had a big influence on her life. She thoroughly enjoys supporting and helping her peers and classmates, which explains her hard work outside of the classroom. Her favorite class at Linfield as been anatomy, so much so that she now serves as a teaching assistant in the anatomy lab. She enjoys the hands-on experience and how it correlates to the information she learned throughout the course. Isbister is also a physiology tutor.

Whether she realizes it or not, Isbister has had a drastic influence on her friends and team mates. Says Mulligan: “Erin is the kind of friend you look at and you’re not really sure how you became friends with them but you’re glad you have had the opportunity to be part of their life. Because without an Erin in your world, you don’t really know which direction life would have taken you.”

Balancing school, athletics, work, exploring new passions, and maintaining previous passions all at the same time is challenging. But Isbister has made tremendous growth by using the resources available at Linfield and finding her forever friends.

LINFIELD WILDCATS

MEN

NAME YR./EL. CLASS HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL

Jack Barrett Fr./Fr. 157 Bend, Ore. / Mountain View

Jacob Barnes So./Fr. HWT McMinnville, Ore. / Oregon State Univ.

Josh Cox Fr./Fr. 149/157 Salem, Ore. / South Salem

Peter Fengler-Johnson Fr./Fr. 157 Portland, Ore. / La Salle College Prep

Kellen Hanson Fr./Fr. 141 Albany, Ore. / South Albany

Jakob Jarvis So./So. 133/141 Yamhill, Ore. / Yamhill-Carlton

Lucian Lefebrve Fr./Fr. 184 McMinnville, Ore. / McMinnville

Ethan Kline Fr./Fr. 174/184 Salem, Ore. / South Salem

Israel Mendez Fr./Fr. 149/157 Yelm, Wash. / Yelm

Jacob Moore Fr./Fr. 125 Keizer, Ore. / Silverton

Joel Nelson Fr./Fr. 125 Aberdeen, Wash. / Aberdeen

Julian Ortiz Fr./Fr. HWT Salem, Ore. / South Salem

Jack Parrott Fr./Fr. 197/HWT Turlock, Calif. / Turlock

Price Pothier Fr./Fr. 165/174 Dundee, Ore. / Newberg

Ethan Ritchie Fr./Fr. 125 Newberg, Ore. / Newberg

Alex Tapia Fr./Fr. 165/174 Warrenton, Ore. / Warrenton Asher Tindall Fr./Fr. 149 Yamhill, Ore. / Yamhill-Carlton

Lance Van Hoose Fr./Fr. 174 Turner, Ore. / Cascade

Darrius Walker Fr./Fr. 197 Hillsboro, Ore. / Hillsboro Divenson Willis Jr./So. 197 North Bend, Ore. / North Bend Micah Worthington Fr./Fr. 141/149 Newberg, Ore. / Newberg

WOMEN

NAME YR./EL. CLASS HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL

Brielle Brick Jr./Fr. 136 Creswell, Ore. / Lane C.C. Arrianna Brown Fr./Fr. 130 Tillamook, Ore. / Tillamook Sophie Cornwall So./Fr. 136/143 Ketchikan, Alaska / Ketchikan Paulina Fabela-Santos Fr./Fr. 116 Federal Way, Wash. / Federal Way Klaira Flatt Fr./Fr. 136 Siletz, Ore. / Toledo Hanna Gillas Fr./Fr. 143 Wilsonville, Ore. / Wilsonville Kami Hart Fr./Fr. 170 Sweet Home, Ore. / Sweet Home Elena Kroll Sr./Fr. 155 Hood River, Ore. / Hood River Valley Carissa Love Sr./Sr. 116 Bend, Ore. / Bend Ayana Medina Fr./Fr. 130 Hillsboro, Ore. / Hillsboro

Riley Omonaka Jr./So. 116 Renton, Wash. / Lindbergh Abisua Perez Fr./Fr. 191 Portland, Ore. / Benson Mikayla Pool Fr./Fr. 123 Richardson, Texas / Richardson Marlene Ramirez Fr./Fr. 143 Salem, Ore. / McKay

Alice Rickett Fr./Fr. 143 Hillsboro, Ore. / Hillsboro Sara Sargent Fr./Fr. 101 Salem, Ore. / McKay Emily Sullenger Fr./Fr. 123 Cascade Locks, Ore. / Hood River Valley

HEAD COACH: Chad Hanke (first year)

ASSISTANT COACH: Alyssa Lampe

STUDENT MANAGER: Diego Salinas

PACIFIC BOXERS

MEN

NAME

YR.

WT.

HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL

Elk Grove, Calif. / Monterey Trail Hunter Atagi So. 250 Honolulu, Hawaii / Farringto Francisco Endi Fr. Puerto Rico / Southridge

Andreas Argumedo So. 300

Zach Higgins So. 174 Novato, Calif. / San Marin

Aidan Lybarger So. 135 Beaverton, Ore. / Mountainside Michael Madden Fr. 195 Beaverton, Ore. / Mountainside K’den McMullin Jr. 160 Canby, Ore. / Canby

Spyre Nelson Fr. 210 Grand Ronde, Ore. / Willamina

Lucas Paschia Fr. 145 Santa Clarita, Calif. / Valencia

Loudyn Reese Sr. 220 Hillsboro, Ore. / Century

Joey Troyer Jr. 125 Bremerton, Wash. / Warner Pacific University TJ Turner Fr. 125 Aloha, Ore. / Aloha High School

Isaac Urbina So. 210 Pendleton, Ore. / Pendleton Andrew Zinn So. 171 Lakewood, Wash. / Lakes

WOMEN

NAME

YR.

HOMETOWN / PREVIOUS SCHOOL

Sagel Bush Jr. Bainbridge Island, Wash. / Bainbridge Island Diamora Castaneda Fr. Adeline Chapton So. Genoa, Nev. / Douglas Kamilah Dillard Fr. Portland, Ore. / Benson Polytechnic Dahlia Leighton Fr. Lombard, Ill. / Glenbard East Analeese McAllister Fr. Centralia, Wash. / Centralia Sadie Scheer Fr. Huntington Beach, Calif. / Marina Samantha Shipley Fr. Hillsboro, Ore. / Century Makaila Takahashi Fr. Forest Grove, Ore. / Forest Grove

HEAD COACH: Zach Binkerd (second year)

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