Spring20_Mag_Combined_WEB_single_pages

SPRING 2020 // 13 knocked my guy over and my teammates were just yelling and cheering me on,” he said. A turning point in his Viking football career came during 2019 spring ball. “Spring is a big evaluation period. After getting used to our system he played really well. Although he’s a bit undersized for an offensive lineman [6’2” and 285 pounds] he’s very quick and aggressive,” said Leunen, who began considering him for a starting position. Hard work over the summer earned him that starting position against Arkansas in the season’s first game. And that summer produced another memorable event. It was the Fourth of July and a party was in full swing at the Brister home in North Portland. Viking head coach Bruce Barnum called to say he needed to drop by. “I was extremely nervous to hear what he had to say,” said Brister. “It looked like the whole neighborhood was there for the Fourth of July,” Barnum recalled. “The porch was covered in red, white and blue flowers.” He was there to tell Brister that his play had earned him an athletic scholarship. “I was speechless and very emotional,” Brister said. “It made me realize all that hard work I put in the weight room, on the field and on film meant something.” “His reaction was something money can’t buy,” Barnum said. “At that moment, his grandfather was the proudest grand- father in America and that was the best Fourth of July party in the country.” Brister and his grandfather told the rest of the party guests after Barnum left. “I’m told they didn’t need any fireworks to heighten the celebration,” Barnum added. Besides rewarding Brister’s persistence and efforts, Barnum had another reason for making his summer announcement. “He was having a little difficulty afford- ing a summer class he needed to graduate. If he hadn’t been able to take that class, it would have delayed his graduation,” the coach said. “I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted him to graduate this year.” The moment was doubly sweet because it also confirmed to Brister that he was successfully working with his disability. On the offensive line, Brister said it was sometimes hard to see when linebackers were blitzing, “so I needed to study film as much as possible so I could recognize when a blitz was more likely to happen.” “During his career, he played both sides of the line,” Leunen said. “He never used it as a crutch. When I asked him to do a job and it was difficult because of his sight, he took that as a challenge. Even if he thought it might be a problem, he’d always find a way.” It hadn’t always been easy. As a child, when Brister realized people could tell he was blind in one eye, it made him uncom- fortable and he would try to avoid eye contact. This led people to think he was anti-social. And, it kept him from trying sports. “I had a lot of anxiety in middle school. I was just stressing about everything. I wanted to play football to make my dad proud,” he said. His father played as a fullback and linebacker at Jefferson. “Once I started playing, I liked it and the anxieties began to drift away,” he said. “After coming to terms with being legally blind in one eye, I realized I couldn’t let it stop me from accomplishing anything.” Brister started all 12 games this year and was also successful in the classroom, carrying a 3.4 GPA in applied health and fitness. He earned Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors and graduates this spring. He will be only the second person in his family to earn a college degree, joining his grandmother. His college years have been quite a journey. “I never gave up on playing and I felt proud for making it. I tell people, ‘If you have a dream, don’t give up. Be persistent.’” JOHN L. WYKOFF ’65 started writing sports stories for PSU 11 years ago after a long career as a public relations consultant. In his student days, he was a Vanguard editor. HELPER Point guard Holland “Boo Boo” Woods has become the number one “helper” in Portland State basketball history. Woods passed Terry Adolph’s record of 421 last December, with 444 assists as of Jan. 10. 444 HALL OF HONOR The newly installed Beetham Family Portland State Athletics Hall of Fame features 111 former Viking student-athletes, coaches, teams and administrators. It’s available for viewing in Viking Pavilion during business hours and home sporting events. 111 CROWDED HOUSE Portland State women’s basketball team, winners of the 2019 Big Sky Championship, established a new attendance record on Dec. 21, 2019. The Vikings hosted the storied Tennessee Lady Vols, drawing 1,748 fans. 1,748 STUDENT-ATHLETES Portland State boasted 247 athletes in its sports programs this March. Among those, 164 held grade point averages of 3.0 or better. The overall cumulative GPA for PSU student- athletes was 3.24. 3.24 compiled by Michael Lund “When I asked him to do a job and it was difficult because of his sight, he took that as a challenge. Even if he thought it might be a problem, he’d always find a way.” MIGHTY VIKS