If sports help build an individual’s character, then Jackson High School could not have picked two finer Athletes of the Year than Johnie Kirton and Emilee Eisinger.
Kirton and Eisinger left not only a legacy with their respective teams but also with their classmates.
One speaker in talking about Kirton at the senior awards assembly described him as the “school’s gentle giant,” a description that Wolfpack football coach Joel Vincent said embodies what Kirton is all about.
Vincent can’t recall a time in the four years he’s known Kirton that he did not have a smile on his face or offer up a cheery greeting when the two ran into each other in the halls.
“That’s just the way he is,” Vincent said. “Johnie was the kid who could be really, really nice in school and not only to his coaches but his peers and his teammates.”
But come game time, Jackson’s opponents saw a different side of Kirton, who rewrote the Timberwolves’ record books by rushing for 2,675 yards and 34 rushing touchdowns.
“There ain’t no smiling going on during games,” Vincent said. “It’s all about the game and focusing on what he needs to do.”
The ability to be the nice guy at school and then to be transformed into a relentless competitor during games is not a quality every star athlete possesses, Vincent noted.
Kirton’s lasting memory of his senior season doesn’t have anything to do with his record-breaking statistics, but rather his team’s accomplishments.
Jackson won its first-ever Western Conference South Division championship and advanced to the state playoffs, also for the first time in school history.
While many observers picked the Wolfpack to finish either in the middle or near the bottom of the standings, Kirton had other ideas.
“I’ve played with all the guys for five or six years, since middle school,” Kirton said. “Just to see all of us grow made me have confidence.”
Having a player of Kirton’s caliber in the backfield no doubt instilled confidence in his teammates and coaches. But it wasn’t just Kirton’s size and speed that made him the best high school running back Vincent has ever laid eyes on.
“He also possesses other intangibles that make him a great running back,” Vincent said. “He’s got great vision. He sees the field well. He sees defenders well. He uses his blockers well. He has the ability to cut back against the grain and can catch the ball well out of the backfield. He’s a good receiver.
“I think you throw all those things together, that’s why you get a kid of this caliber.”
Kirton is headed to the University of Washington in the fall and is relishing the challenges that await him as he makes the transition from high school to Division I football.
“I’m ready to be tossed around a little bit by older people,” Kirton said.
It’s unclear as to whether Kirton will see much playing time at Washington, but he is getting himself ready for the possibility.
“I just want to go there prepared for anything,” Kirton said. “If they don’t need me this year that’s fine with me. That’s not going to stop me from being prepared to play.”
Kirton is considering business as a major but is hoping to become a fireman and perhaps eventually a fire chief. Given his accomplishments at Jackson, Vincent isn’t willing to rule out anything as far as Kirton is concerned.
Other school records Kirton holds include single season carries (301), single season points scored (204), single season yards per carry (8.88), career rushing yards (2,840), career carries (328), career touchdowns (37) and career rushing touchdowns (36).
“I think a large part of what happens at the UW is up to Johnie,” Vincent said. “If he goes in focused, if he goes in with his priorities straight in terms of his schooling and his football, I think there’s no telling what great things he can do, including the ability to possibly play right away.”
Emilee Eisinger’s final basketball game for Jackson didn’t go down as one of her stellar efforts, at least in terms of statistics.
The second-team, all-league center scored only four points, far below her regular season average of 14. But for Eisinger, Jackson’s 50-44 victory over Kamiak stands out as one of the most memorable moments of her senior year.
The Timberwolves lost to the Knights by 17 points in their first meeting of the season.
“Nobody was expecting it,” said Eisinger, who holds the school records for career points (1,099) and most points scored in a game (33). “They blew us out the first time. We came back and beat them … everyone worked really hard and pulled together as a team.”
The arrival of new girls basketball coach Jeannie Howell meant that the 2003-04 season was a year of changes, some of which were difficult for Eisinger.
“It was a whole new system,” she said. “I didn’t know her (Howell) as well. It was really hard. I think I just tried to stay positive.”
Whatever challenges Eisinger faced, she kept that upbeat attitude.
“I knew at times there were frustrations just trying to transfer systems,” Howell said. “She never let that get her down. She adjusted to a new role on the team of being the leader and trying to contribute from an all-around perspective. She kept plowing through it. She was very selfless in that way.”
Howell remembers Eisinger as a player who consistently stayed after practice to work on her game.
And it wasn’t as if she had a lot of extra time. In addition to sports, Eisinger also was an ASB representative for four years. In the past, she also was part of the school’s Leaders of the Pack mentoring program.
Eisinger was the type of player who pushed herself and her teammates to get better, Howell said. As a captain during her junior and senior seasons, Eisinger also was well aware of her potential influence on the underclassmen.
“I just tried to be a role model for the younger girls,” Eisinger said. “You really have to lead by example. You can’t expect a teammate to do something you wouldn’t do yourself. You have to take a real personal interest in all the girls … you have to be positive. You get the best results when you’re positive.”
At one practice, the varsity team took on the freshmen in a scrimmage for the first time.
“They (freshmen) were so excited,” Howell recalled. “They looked up to her. She was very responsive and open to them and willing to talk with them and answer questions.”
Eisinger and Howell talked often during the season about the team and about what Eisinger wanted to do after high school.
“She’s very easy to talk to. She’s very mature for her age,” Howell said. “She can sit down and discuss her future goals with you. She was always trying to be the best captain she could. She talked to me often about different things to help with the team.”
Eisinger, who also earned honorable mention, all-league recognition in volleyball, realized one of her goals when she signed on to play basketball for Northwest College in Kirkland.
Staying close to home appealed to Eisinger, whose family is important to her.
“I’m really close to my brothers (Jamie and Drew),” Eisinger said. “I really want to come back and watch them play basketball.”
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