All in the Family
Soccer and track star Emily Thompson ’16 follows in the athletic and academic footsteps of her parents.
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Emily Thompson ’16 isn’t the first member of her family to have stepped onto the playing field at Lewis & Clark. In fact, the standout soccer forward, track hurdler, and relay competitor is one in a long list of students with familial ties to the athletics program.
It was Emily’s mother, Erin Hedenberg BA ’87, MAT ’93, who inspired a love of soccer in her daughter. As a child, Emily accompanied the Hall of Fame player to her city league soccer games, which included several other Lewis & Clark soccer alumni. Emily’s father, attorney Michael Thompson ’84, was captain of Lewis & Clark’s football team. He earned the 1983-84 Joe Huston Athlete of the Year Award and was inducted this fall into the Hall of Fame.
Other student-athletes with family ties to Lewis & Clark include two pairs of brothers—Zac Salois ’15 and Gunnar Salois ’17, and Stein Retzlaff ’16 and Thor Retzlaff ’18—who play on the current football team. And brothers Pat Clock ’62 and Mike Clock ’57 of football and wrestling renown were joined in the Hall of Fame this October by sibling Barry Clock ’70, in recognition of his contributions to both sports.
“Lewis & Clark has been better for Emily than either her dad or I ever imagined,” Erin says. “She gets to play really competitive soccer and still have time to explore other things that interest her. It allows her to be a student first, which is really important.”
Emily agrees. She says the best part of being a student-athlete at Lewis & Clark is she can have it all. “I get a really good education with interesting classes, and I get to compete at a high level in athletics.”
Emily Thompson: A Legacy Athlete from The Chronicle Magazine
