Marissa Mueller will be heading to Iowa University next season where she'll compete on the school's track and field team.
The Lambton Central student made it official Monday, signing her national letter of intent during a ceremony at the high school.
Mueller will join the Hawkeyes' track and field team in the fall, where she'll focus her attention on javelin.
She says she was blown away when she visited the campus in the fall.
"There wasn't anything I didn't love, the people there were fantastic, the team was great, the atmosphere was absolutely incredible," says Mueller. "Even though track and field is a very individual sport there is still that team environment and everyone there is pushing each other and working hard to get better.
"The athletic facilities were incredible, they had the program I wanted and they're a reputable school. They checked off all the boxes on the list, there really wasn't anything they were lacking."
A multi-sport athlete, Mueller has also excelled in volleyball and tennis. She will head to Toronto in June to compete in OFSAA Tennis. She's no stranger to OFSAA, she won gold last year in javelin at the track and field meet in Windsor.
A star in the classroom as well, Mueller averaged in the high-90s last year, a big contributing factor to why she ended up getting her scholarship to Iowa.
She says she is looking forward to being a part of Hawkeye Nation.
"You could definitely tell there was a lot of pride in Hawkeyes athletics and sports in general because they don't have any major sports teams in Iowa. There were logos everywhere, there is so much school pride, everywhere you look it's Hawkeyes this, Hawkeyes that," says Mueller. "It's really cool to see not only to see the students enthusiastic about the school and the athletic programs, but also the people the community really care as well."
She compared it to seeing Toronto Maple Leafs stuff everywhere in Southwestern Ontario. She admits she isn't a fan of the Maple Leafs, so she's more than willing to trade the blue and white for yellow and black.
Iowa is an NCAA division one school the in Big Ten Conference.
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Here's Marissa Mueller talking about here decision to go to Iowa University on the CHOK Sports Show:
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Marissa-Mueller-INT-for-web.mp3"][/audio]