Marissa Saneholtz threw away her BGSU acceptance letter after being forced to apply. BGSU was her last choice.

Not only is the University in the city where she grew up, but Saneholtz knew there would be so many people from her high school here, and she was looking for a change.

After she looked around at some other schools, she realized the University had what she wanted: a gymnastics team and a metals and jewelry design program.

She received a full ride for academics and liked the varsity gymnastics team, so Saneholtz decided to enroll.

‘It ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made,’ she said.

Kylie Korsnack, senior cross country and track athlete, also said she never thought she would come to BGSU and sometimes wonders what it would be like if she had gone somewhere else.

But she really likes being here.

Aside from the free meals and laundry and fans that she brings to meets, she gets to be a part of her seven-year-old sister’s life.

She knows she would not get to spend as much time with her if she had gone somewhere else for school.

Track and cross country coach Cami Wells likes to recruit local athletes. She said it is easier to keep track of students who live within a half hour of Bowling Green.

‘I can watch them grow up,’ she said, but she emphasized that they still need to meet the ability level needed for the teams.

This was the case for the female students from Bowling Green High School participating in cross country.

The BGHS cross country team was very dominant in the sport, so Wells said it was easy to recruit them.

But for the volleyball team, local student athletes aren’t recruited unless they are going to play, said Elizabeth Simon, a senior on the volleyball team, so it’s ironic that two BGHS volleyball players were recruited a year apart.

The other BGHS volleyball recruit, junior Chelsey Meek, said attending BGSU was in her blood, even though she thought it would have been exciting to go somewhere else.

‘For me to stay here seemed right,’ said Meek, who was voted ‘most likely to be a townie’ by her high school class. ‘Do I regret coming to BG? No way,’ she said.

Zach Akenberger is a freshman walk-on to the football team. He said it is rare for students from BGHS to play Division I football.

‘It shows kids they could give it a shot,’ Akenberger said.

Not living at home has made a difference for a lot of the athletes.

Saneholtz said she lived in the country, so being in town is an entirely different experience.

‘If I lived at home it would be like high school,’ Korsnack said.

Simon said she has always felt like she was away from home since she lived on campus. She’s also had the same transition problems that other students from far away have. She had to deal with a brand new work load, practice and games.

Barbara Powers, a freshman on the track and cross country teams, said she lives on campus so she can have the full college experience.

‘If I lived at home I wouldn’t have that,’ she said.

But she was able to stay in her comfort zone and not be somewhere unfamiliar.

‘A lot of people don’t want to stay at home. Some people won’t be interested because it’s BG and they don’t want to be at home,’ Wells said.

But having local students on the teams is beneficial, she said.

‘It helps us get into the community,’ Wells said, and in turn, local fans come to support the athletes.

Meek said it is rewarding being a townie playing at BGSU.

‘So many people know who you are,’ she said, which leads to many fans at the games. ‘It’s super rewarding.’

‘We end up with all kinds of fans here,’ said gymnastics head coach Kerrie Beach. She also finds local student athletes to be useful for recruiting because they are able to show the new recruits around town.

Andrea Pereira De Almeida, sophomore, didn’t need to be shown around town when she came to visit, but she did like having her high school teammate Korsnack already on the track and cross country teams. She said she got to get to know the team better and make a better decision about running here before she committed.

Korsnack said she gets to make a good statement about town to the recruits and incoming athletes, which probably wouldn’t happen if there weren’t local athletes on the team.

She let’s them know what a good experience she has had here, too.

‘I love my coach,’ Korsnack said. ‘She’s the whole reason I’m here.’

Simon also chose BGSU because of her coach.

‘I was honored to be recruited by her,’ she said.

Local student athletes can also help out other athletes who are from far away.

‘My family kind of adopts people on the team,’ Saneholtz said. She has teammates come to her house for home-cooked meals and her parents help out the other girls on the team whenever needed.

‘[My parents] are parents for everyone on the team who’s from far away,’ she said.

Recruiting local athletes can also bring more competition to the team, Wells said. The local athletes competed against each other in high school, and now they can train with and compete against some of the same area athletes.

‘I like having my teammates as my teammates again,’ Korsnack said. ‘You’re more competitive against girls you competed against in high school. It’s much better to have them competing with me.’

De Almeida said there’s more pressure to compete well because of the support she has at meets from family and friends.