Wawasee High School senior Elizabeth Jackson signed her letter of intent Wednesday to continue her golf career at Taylor University. Seated with Elizabeth are parents Leslie and Bruce Jackson. In back are WHS athletic director Steve Wiktorowski, WHS golf head coach Steve Coverstone and WHS principal Mike Schmidt. (Photo by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE – Not wanting to stray too far from home, but just enough to gain some of the “college feel”, Wawasee High School senior Elizabeth Jackson has chosen to continue her golf career down state at Taylor University.

The decision to choose Taylor versus several other area golf suitors wasn’t an immediate one for Jackson, but one the senior feels is the right fit for her needs.

“I wanted to get the college experience, but it was nice to be somewhat close to home, too,” Jackson said Wednesday morning at WHS. “I didn’t want to be 30 minutes from home, but also didn’t want to be three hours from home, either. Taylor was a happy medium as far as that goes.”

Jackson chose the Crossroads League school over other programs such as Grace College, which was hoping to land the hometown star. But the sales pitch from Taylor head coach Julie Flores, as well as the academic offerings, were the easy sell.

Ranked No. 80 of 212 in her class, Jackson hopes to earn a degree in psychology as well as further her golf career. At Wawasee, Jackson is also a member of PEERS and the Wawasee Leadership Committee.

Jackson also noted Taylor’s Christian atmosphere was a strong part of her decision, one in which the pace of faith was a speed suited to her liking.

Jackson helped Wawasee’s golf team reach the state finals last fall for the first time since 1986, and added an individual regional berth as a junior. The three-time All-Northern Lakes Conference performer was also a team MVP in 2012 and 2013 and a three-year team captain. Jackson was a four-year varsity starter in golf as well as a four-year varsity starter in basketball, to which she is currently a team captain.

“Ultimately, I just wanted to be in a place that felt right for me, and that’s what I felt at Taylor,” Jackson said. “Both academically and in golf, I feel very comfortable there.”