College is right around the corner, and five seniors picked their college of choice by signing letters of intent to play college ball.

Center Grant Gershner was the first to sign to attend Westminster College for football.

“It felt good knowing that a college was so interested in me. Three or four other colleges asked me to come look there as well. I made my decision when I went on campus tours and saw how nice the faculty was,” said Gershner.

Wide receiver Michael Fine also committed to playing football after high school for Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

“It was awesome to be able to have a college I really wanted to go to want me to play for them. OBU, Tech and Harding were my top three, and after I left my visit to Tech, I looked back on it and noticed there wasn’t a thing that I didn’t like about it,” said Fine. “I committed two days later, and it was a really easy decision.”

Goalie Emma Gardner signed to play soccer at Concordia University.

“I was really relieved that I could now play soccer and have a college decision made. I don’t really know how many schools that were looking at me, but they were usually in the middle of nowhere or ones that I haven’t ever heard of,” said Gardner. “It was a really hard decision because it was so far from Arkansas. The weather is always cold. I have relatives up there, and my sister is only a couple hours away.

Playing sports far from home made the decision difficult, but it also game Gardner a chance to play a game she loves in college.

“I figured I would give it a chance,” she said. “After my visit to the college I based my decision on the small size of campus and the fact that I would be able to play soccer while going to college.”

J.C. Bond then signed for Southwestern Assemblies of God University, to play football.

“There were eight different colleges interested in me, and I found it really annoying because they wouldn’t stop calling me. I got at least three calls a night. I chose the college that I wanted to go to a long time ago before they started all looking into me,” said Bond.

Infielder Andrew Cook signed his letter of intent for baseball at Reed Jr. College.

“I got colleges from Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Mississippi. I wanted to go to Mississippi because I have family there. And I didn’t want to go north because I don’t like the cold. I chose when I talked to the coach and he was really interested in me,” Crook said. “I wanted to go to a college that was more interested in me than I was in the college.”