“I was pretty shocked, but I think it was going to happen, but I’ve been at Metea for two year so it was a pretty tough change, but I fitted right in.”
Waubonsie Valley junior football player Julian Johnson is one of many new Warrior athletes attending and competing for Waubonsie after previously being students at Metea Valley. With the 2022-23 campaign underway, Johnson along with girl’s golfer Meadow Rolence, basketball standout Khaliah Reid, and several other competitors are now rocking the green and gold of their former rivals after the district 204 boundary change.
“I need something different. I need to challenge myself and I love the people at Metea. I still talk to them. We still hang out all the time but I wanted to make some new friends like there’s no problem taking an opportunity and I know I would have regretted it if I didn’t go.”
The adjustment gave current Metea students the option to be grandfathered in by remaining in their normal classroom or choose to transfer to Waubonsie Valley pending on the living location. For athletes like Rolence and Johnson, they have the opportunity to reunite with close friends while getting adjusted to the new building.
“All of my friends outside of golf and out of school friends went to Waubonsie. So I would be able to go to a new school with a bunch of new people that I already kind of knew but I got to know them better.”
“It’s been pretty good I grew up with a lot of these guys I played football with a lot of them, so it’s been really easy and we bonded real fast.”
There is understandably an odd feeling to face off against former friends, teammates and coaches at Metea Valley in the good ole Eola Road battles. Especially when the connections to their former school have family ties as well. Julian’s older brother Jalen was a star football and track athlete for the Mustangs before graduating in May, while Meadow’s older brother Hayden played varsity golf at Metea and just graduated this spring as well.
Whether it’s on the gridiron, golf course or basketball court, the former Mustang athletes still feel a strong connection to the Black and Gold.
“I still like to view myself as half a Mustang still and like half a Warrior, so I really like it. You just see them in a different way which is cool.”
Now that they have had a chance to adjust to new allegiances, these Mustangs turned Warriors are ready to make new friends while wearing new colors during the new school year.
“On this team I have found a lot of new people that I really love and I can see that I just love being friends with them they’re so cool.”
For Naperville Sports Weekly, I’m Patrick Codo.
