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RUTLEDGE – Johnson University has found a pipeline of players from different sports coming from Grainger High School lately and on Wednesday, Cierstin Phifer joined that list.

The Lady Grizzly senior signed to play soccer for the Knoxville school next season and she said there were several reasons why she decided to ink with the Royals. “Johnson is a small campus with a close community and I liked that it was a good Christian university. The girls on the team seemed like they would be a family. Plus, Johnson is close to home so that was part of it too.”

“Johnson is getting a hard worker and an enthusiastic player and it will be hard to outwork her. I wish I had several more like Cierstin,” Grainger head coach Mark Wankel said of Phifer. “She was a major factor in the success we had. She was a leader which was important for me being new to the team. Cierstin provided more help to me than I did to her, she was just excellent.”

“We are excited about signing her because we love to find a player with good speed as well as one that is fearless,” Johnson head coach Todd Halliburton said. “We also look for players who have room for growth and get those players who don’t feel like they have arrived yet and Cierstin is that. She is very humble about who she is and where she’s at. We are excited to see how she develops over the next four years. She has great athleticism and a good game IQ and yet has a super high ceiling for improvement.”

Phifer excels at not only soccer but softball as well. After enjoying a productive season in soccer in the Fall, she is preparing for the start of softball season in a few weeks and said playing on the diamond for the Lady Grizzlies will be a benefit in the preparation for college-level athletics. “Softball will help keep me in shape and allow me to be more aggressive.”

Phifer plans to major in Pre-Med at Johnson with hopes of becoming a pediatrician.