Senior Israel Rivers has been selected for athlete of the issue. As a three sport athlete, Rivers has been on the Justice High School varsity foot­ball, track & field, and basket­ball team. Rivers is a dedi­cated, disci­plined, and hard-work­ing athlete, making him a posi­tive role model and a great influ­ence on his teammates. 

Sopho­more team­mate Daniel Duong explains how Rivers influ­enced him. “I am so lucky to have some­one like Israel as a team­mate, he makes me want to be a better player. It’s been an honor to have Israel as a team­mate and I hope the best for him going forward,” said Duong. 

Senior Mohammed Qavi talked about how much he has enjoyed having Rivers as both a team­mate and friend. “I am so grate­ful to have had Israel as my team­mate in foot­ball. We had so much fun together and made so many great memo­ries in games, as well as prac­tices. I hope we can keep in touch and wish him the best.”

Rivers was a part of the 2021 National District Cham­pi­onship win for foot­ball, with Justice’s last cham­pi­onship win being in 1994. On top of that, Rivers was named All-District honor­able mention line­backer. Rivers has been a vital part of every team he has played on due to his dedi­ca­tion.

Rivers strives to not only be an excep­tional athlete, but also a leader. His coaches and team­mates say his abil­i­ties and lead­er­ship skills are off the charts:  “He never misses a prac­tice and brings a sense of deter­mi­na­tion to the field. He’s a great exam­ple of a good role model,” said foot­ball and indoor track coach Jose Gutier­rez

Look­ing back at his high school career, Rivers remi­nisces on his favorite memo­ries. “I really enjoyed being district cham­pi­ons, I really think I grew and became a better team player. Justice sports gave me some­thing to look forward to and devote time to,” said Rivers.

Rivers is also thank­ful to have built a sense of commu­nity with his team­mates. “No matter what sports I play, my team­mates always support me and I have made such great friendships.” 

As Rivers is a year-long athlete, he knows what it means and what it takes to be a student athlete. “It is impor­tant to dedi­cate time to both school and sports and you will have success in both.” 
Rivers has commit­ted to continue his foot­ball career at Wash­ing­ton and Lee Univer­sity come fall of 2023.