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The eighth best sports story in our top 10 countdown for Washington from the 2018-2019 school year takes us to the soccer pitch with a feel good story.

The Washington boys’ soccer team experienced a hardship in May when head coach Sally Hart’s dad, Russ Hayes, passed away from cancer. Just days later, the players decided to make a tribute to Hayes by writing ‘4RUSS’ on their cleats before a game against IMS. Senior Captain Caleb Suchan told KCII Sports it was a collaborative decision amongst everyone. “We have a group chat and we all thought it would be nice to honor him and to show our appreciation for Coach Hart by writing “4RUSS” on our cleats.” The players kept it a secret until pregame warm-ups when Hart saw for herself. “Right before warm-ups I noticed on a player’s white cleats that it had marker on it. I looked closer and realized it had my dad’s name on it. I thought that was really sweet and I appreciated it. My dad used to go to all of my games growing up, when I was in college, when I was a ref, and since I have been here in Washington. So, it was almost like having my dad there again.”

The players continued the tribute for the remainder of their season. Check back into tomorrow for number seven on our countdown when we look at the archery season.

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