KARNS CITY — Karns City senior soccer standout Spenser Myers is no longer walking on at West Virginia University.

A roster spot awaits him.

“They had a forward on the team transfer out,” Myers said. “I was planning on going down there as a preferred walk-on, then they offered me that spot.”

Myers, the Gremlins' all-time goals scoring leader with 164, is not receiving any immediate scholarship money.

He is becoming the first Karns City boys soccer player to join a collegiate program of WVU's magnitude.

The Mountaineers are coming off an 8-7-1 season and have been ranked among the nation's top 25 in nine of the past 11 seasons. Marlon LeBlanc, the team's head coach for the past 11 years, has taken WVU to the NCAA tournament four times and gotten to at least the second round on each occasion.

WVU has defeated 21 Top 25 teams — nine in the Top 10 — over the past nine seasons.

“Spenser has to improve his strength and speed to compete at that level and he knows that,” Karns City boys soccer coach Jim Grenninger said. “He probably needs to gain 10 or 15 pounds to fill out that frame.

“His quickness and speed just need to develop more. There's probably a good chance he'll be red-shirted that first year.”

Myers said the coaches have not told him of any immediate plans for him that way. He plans to major in accounting.

“I had a few Division II and a bunch of Division III schools looking at me,” Myers said of the recruiting process. “I went to WVU for a soccer camp last summer.

“The coaches liked me and invited me to come back and join the team as a walk-on. I took that to heart. It was a challenge I was ready to take on.”

Grenninger wasn't surprised.

“Spenser has the desire and the intestinal fortitude,” the coach said. “The desire to succeed will be there. The kid is hard-working and after a while, I think he can catch up to that level of play and make an impact.”

Myers has already begun preparations in that regard. He plays club soccer for Northern Steel. Workouts for that program began in January and the season runs from mid-March into June.

But Myers isn't stopping there.

“It's soccer all the time for me mow,” he said. “I've been lifting weights, running, working on my physical skills.

“I'm going down there in peak condition and we'll see what happens.”

Grenninger referred to making the jump from Karns City soccer to WVU as “a big challenge ... and Spenser always seems to rise to challenges.”

Myers has been a soccer player since age 6. No other family members have any soccer background.

“I tried it when I was little, liked it and just stayed with it,” he said.

After helping the Gremlins win a state tournament game, “a team accomplishment I was proud to be a part of,” Myers is ready to create similar memories with the Mountaineers.

“It's all about mind-set and determination,” he said. “My first goal is to win a starting job, then contribute to a successful team.”