Senior Esmé Ryznar never imagined herself taking her sport to the next level.

Now, she’s committed to playing Division III soccer at Kenyon College next year, joining The Falconer’s Next Level Seniors, a series profiling seniors who have signed to play their sport at the collegiate level.

“I always thought that I’d be done playing after high school,” she said. “But it’s been kind of nice to think that now I don’t have to worry about being sad that it’s my last game ever or something, because I still have four more years.”

Though she’s uncertain about her major, she intends to pursue something STEM-related, as she was awarded a scholarship in that field.

Because her older brother, Dylan Ryznar ’24, goes to Kenyon, the college was already one of her top choices. He gave her the soccer coach’s contact information and encouraged her to reach out, even if she wasn’t sure that she wanted to play.

After some correspondence, Ryznar attended one of the college’s soccer camps for prospective players, and to her surprise, she snagged a spot on the team.

“I was very pleasantly shocked,” she said. “I had something that would be uniquely mine there … and that felt real, because then I could apply and know that I had somewhere to fit in already.”

At La Salle, she has run varsity track all four years and played varsity soccer the last three years along with playing club soccer with North Clackamas Alliance, where she has been since she was 13.

Inspired by her brother, Ryznar has been playing soccer since she was four years old and club soccer since she was six.

Ryznar said that he is her biggest role model, and growing up, she took on many activities because he did them first. When choosing a high school, he was also a prominent factor in her decision to come here.

“I think he just models all of my values … respect, loyalty, kindness, acceptance, and open-mindedness,” she said. “He stays committed to things and people, which I really respect, and he works really hard all the time both for himself and for people around him.”

As well as keeping her in shape, she said, running for both track and soccer helps clear her head, and both provide an outlet other than school and home for her energy.

“I would say I’ve stuck with it for this long because I really love all the people it has brought into my life,” she said. “And the athletic exercise part — I don’t know what I would have done these past few years if I didn’t have a soccer practice to go to every week.”

There are some physical drawbacks, though. Ryznar has sprained her ankle three out of the four years she’s played for La Salle’s soccer team, she said, and she has to be more careful each time, as each sprain further weakens her ankle.

While Ryznar does ankle-strengthening exercises to help, the recurring injury is representative of the toll doing a sport at this level takes, she said.

Maintaining her sport is also an intense mental strain, she said, especially coupled with her academics. With practice every day and games on the weekends, Ryznar said she spends about 15 hours a week doing sports, and 18 to 19 if she has a track meet.

The advanced classes that Ryznar often opts for only compound the problem, she explained. But the level of academic rigor she’s dedicated herself to has paid off, as she was named one of two salutatorians for the Class of 2026.

“I would say the academics are really hard, but I think that’s probably one of my favorite parts, just because the teachers are great too,” she said. “I’m learning a lot in a great environment.”

A large part of what makes her schedule so packed is the club soccer season, which picks up right after the La Salle season and ends in April, with tournaments over the summer.

Both teams bond well, she said, but due to the time constraint of the La Salle soccer season, there’s more focus on short-term improvement and success as opposed to long-term strategy.

“Both are really great opportunities,” she said. “It’s just [that] high school is more focused on, ‘How can we get together and improve as a team quickly, because we only have two months,’ whereas club is like, ‘We have the next five years together — let’s do team bonding.’”

Additionally, while seniors graduate every year from La Salle, her club team has consisted of the same people for the most part over the past five years.

“You stay with the same people, and we all just grow up together until you’re a senior in high school, then obviously you have to leave,” she said “It’s just become such a part of my life.”

Though she would say she likes club soccer better, each has its distinct strengths for Ryznar.

“They both bring different things to my life and athletic career, but I think overall, I’ve made really good friends playing club,” she said. “It’s been a really great experience of getting to be a leader.”

The La Salle season is short, she said, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t close.

“Since we’re playing for La Salle, it’s like you’re bonded in that you’re playing for the school and that you’re working hard for each other,” she said. “That’s a really valuable experience too.”

Though they do differ in some key ways, both high school soccer and club soccer have been formative for Ryznar as a player and as a leader. The two experiences inform each other, she explained, as she takes her club leadership skills to La Salle, and La Salle’s competitiveness to her club team.

“We are just enough committed to winning that it’s worth it, and we have a focus on community and supporting each other,” she said. “Even though we have seniors that leave every year … there’s always a core bond between everyone that pushes us to work hard and have fun while doing it.”

Whether at La Salle or with her club team, the people Ryznar plays alongside push her to grow, she said, not just as a competitor, but as a person.

“I just really think I can take a lot from how they play and who they are,” she said. “I really enjoy being around them, and they inspire me to want to go play soccer.”

Next year, Ryznar looks forward to being on her own, but she will still take the things she’s learned with her.

“I am extremely grateful for anyone that has ever helped me in my soccer career, and I don’t think I could ever repay my coaches, my teammates, my family, and my friends for everything that they’ve given me,” she said. “I look forward to my future doing whatever I end up doing, because goodness knows I don’t know what that is yet.”