Back in the 90s, Deion Sanders took the sports world by storm.
His flashy personality combined with pick sixes and punt returns (that made it seem like tackling him was impossible) made him stuff of legend.
On top of his two super bowls and defensive player of the year award in the NFL, he also carved out a nice MLB career and now coaches a power 5 program in the Colorado Buffaloes- a true jack of all trades.
For the past 4 years, Sunnyslope has had its own Deion Sanders: Senior Sam Porell.
At Sunnyslope, Porell has played Soccer, Track, and Football for all 4 years making Varsity in all three.
You likely haven’t read about Porell here on The Viking Views because he has been busy writing 23 profiles about other student athletes over the last two years.
As a final farewell, The Viking Views staff decided to indulge ourselves a bit a feature someone who likely would have been written about — had he not been the one writing so many stories.
Porell also currently serves as Viking Views Sports Editor, is top 5% in his class, and has earned numerous recognitions including an AIPA runner up prize for sports writing and making AIA all-academic team for soccer.
Porell’s impact as a teammate can’t be understated.
“I’ve been soccer teammates with him for 8 years, and each year he’s been a very energetic leader who doesn’t take anything lightly,” said Senior Cameron Clark.
He showed similar qualities during track where he ran distance events all four years.
“He’s a big inspiration to the team and always pushes us to work harder. He always leads every rep for the guys, and I don’t think the team would be the same without Sam Porell,” said Senior George Diaz.
Porell’s coaches also took notice of his leadership.
“Coaching Sam was a pleasure. He was like having another coach on the field because he paid attention to everything we needed him to do. He had the heart of a lion and ran through all the drills hard,” said Linebackers Coach Scott Niegodski.
This aptitude for hard work even earned him the nickname “Shifty.”
“One practice as an underclassmen, Sam juked one of the older guys and made him look like a fool and that earned him the nickname Shifty,” said Niegodski.
Off the field, or track, Porell also makes a profound impact in the classroom.
“Sam and I are always partners for group projects like a stats survey or a physics egg drop. With these projects, he’s always been great at taking initiative and making sure everything is done on time,” said Clark.
Teachers have noticed porell’s growth in the classroom.
“When I had Sam his freshman year, I thought he was quiet and reserved, which he kind of is still. But around his junior year, I really got to see his personality. Being able to have a conversation with him have been fun in addition to him being a great student in my room,” said Newspaper Advisor James King.
Porell’s made immeasurable contributions to The Viking Views over the past three year.
“Sam has been an invaluable member of the journalism staff,” said King.
Before he was even officially on staff, Porell was making an impact.
“Before Sam joined the newspaper, I gave him the award for best journalism student even though he was only in my intro class because he was an excellent writer who took projects seriously,” said King.
Porell has showcased his prowess for journalism writing 24 stories this year alone, a staff record.
“The quantity of work that Sam has put out shows that he has a deep passion for sharing the excellent stories of other people at Sunnyslope,” said King.
Sunnyslope is sad to see him go as next year he will be furthering his passion for journalism at the University of Missouri where he is enrolled in the Missouri School of Journalism.