Crater High School student will be attending West Point

A Crater High School student is leaving the Rogue Valley for West Point next year.

Griffin Hokanson says applying for West Point was much different than your standard college.

Now that he’s been accepted into his top-choice school, he’s looking forward to his future.

“It feels great,” Hokanson said.

Griffin Hokanson got accepted into West Point on Tuesday.

It’s an accomplishment that took a lot of hard work and dedication.

“There’s physical requirements and obviously it’s a very prestigious school, so their academics are very high,” Hokanson said.

In fact, Hokanson says he took the SAT five times to reach his desired score.

“We try to push him to do things, but he’s always been kind of intrinsically motivated,” Griffin’s dad Matt Hokanson said.

That motivation not only shows in his academics, but in his physical endeavors as well.

Hokinson’s ski coach thinks his involvement in skiing and cross country played a big role in his acceptance.

“We feel that he’s a gifted athlete genetically, but he doesn’t rely on that. He’s the hardest working athlete I think I’ve ever had,” ski coach Gary King said.

His hard work helped Crater High’s cross country team win the state championship.

It’s the sport he plans to continue at West Point.

Hokanson says he’s going to the school because he wants to serve in the military as an officer and he’s looking forward to the challenge.

“Your first year is your plebe year and it’s brutal, so it’ll be a challenge for me mentally and physically of course,” Hokanson said.

It’s a challenge his coach is sure he can live up to.

“He’s definitely one of the future leaders of America,” King said.

Hokanson says he wants to study civil engineering at West Point as he might work for the Army Corps of Engineers.

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