By Thomas Jones, Sports Editor

When a line of thunderstorms rolled through San Antonio during last month’s regional track meet, Lexi Iverson huddled beneath the stands with her teammates and waited out the delay.

One hundred miles to the north, Iverson’s prom date waited alone at a table at the Austin Convention Center, eyeing the clock and a cooling piece of chicken Parmesan. 

He suddenly realized what Lexi and her twin sister, Alanna, had known since they first entered Westlake High School: The usual high school rites of passage take a back seat to the demands of Chap athletics.

Heck, teenage customs such as proms, parties and sleeping in on Saturdays sit in the bed of the truck when it comes to the Iversons’ busy schedule.

But such demands – which included four years of AAU track and club soccer for both girls – didn’t slow the Iverson twins, 2009 Westlake graduates who both epitomized the term “student-athlete.”

Take a glance at Lexi’s high school career. In her four years competing for Westlake’s varsity soccer, track and cross country squads, Lexi earned nine varsity letters. She leaves several lasting marks on Westlake’s track and field record book, including a school record in the triple jump. Lexi earned a pair of all-district nods from the district’s soccer coaches. 

Overall, Lexi played on six district championship teams and earned four individual district titles in track. 

Only one other Westlake athlete can match such productivity, and she’s been Lexi’s housemate since before they were both born. Alanna finished her career at Westlake with a remarkable 12 varsity letters, which longtime Chap coach and girls athletic coordinator Al Bennett believes is a school record. From cross country in the fall through the soccer season to the spring track meets, Alanna never slowed down while helping six teams win district titles and two reach state.

But the most important letters for Lexi and Alanna came with report cards. At one of the most competitive public schools in the nation, both Iversons managed to leave Westlake with an A average despite all the travel and practices and weariness at the end of marathon school days. 

Lexi received academic all-district honors in soccer in each of her four seasons on the squad and earned academic all-state recognition from the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches this year. Her prowess in the classroom – and on the pitch – helped her garner a generous academic and athletic scholarship from St. Edward’s University, where she will play soccer and study education.

Alanna, a four-year member of the National Honor Society, completed high school ranked in the top 20 percent of her class. She bypassed a substantial academic scholarship offer from Trinity University in San Antonio to attend the University of Texas, where she hopes to prepare for law school.

A future teacher, a future lawyer and loads of good memories from the fields of play. A tardy prom arrival looks like a slight price to pay.