In the North State very few high school athletes get the opportunity to take their game to the next level and have it paid.
Jaklyn Wheeler, an outstanding volleyball talent, is getting that opportunity next year and Action Sports Ross Field has more on where Wheeler will be going and who she will be playing for.
On the volleyball court, Red Bluff's Jaklyn Wheeler is one of the best players in the North State and this Friday the high school senior is taking her official visit to the Oregon campus where she's recently committed to play for the Ducks in college.
Wheeler says, "I'm a little nervous about it, you know going up to the next level, its a little nerve wracking, but I'm really excited about seeing what I'll be able to handle."
Over the course of her high school career, Wheeler has been sought after by many Division One colleges, but Oregon beat out the other school's by offering Wheeler a full time scholarship and a connection that's close to home.
Wheeler says, "Jim Moore, the Ducks Head Coach, used to coach at Chico State and that was actually the first camp I ever went to away from home and I had such a great experience with him."
Besides Moore, the Ducks are also a very good team in a highly competitive volleyball conference and Wheeler is excited to take her game to that level.
Wheeler adds, "they're coming up in the volleyball world, they made Sweet Sixteen's for the past two years, looking to make it to the Final Four this year, doing great in the PAC-10, they're just really doing well."
In two weeks, Wheeler will officially sign the letter of intent and nobody is more proud than her mother and coach, Kim.
Kim Wheeler says, "extremely proud of her accomplishment, she set the bar really high for herself. ir's going to be a real joy watching her play at the next level and see what she can do."
For now, Wheeler still has to finish up her Senior season and since committing to the Ducks, Jaklyn has had to answer to a new nickname from some of her classmates
Wheeler says, "they're calling me Quacklyn.....and they're having a lot of fun with it."
Something tells me, she's going to have to get used to that.
