Alva Review-Courier -

Edmond's Paige Little had never heard of Northwestern Oklahoma State University until she was contacted by Shane Hansen, who wanted to recruit her for the cross-country team at the university.

"I decided to check it out and ended up really liking it," she said. "I like the small town atmosphere. I came here and ran for three years."

Little's intended major was health and sports science leading to a physical therapy career. However, before she completed her freshman year she switched to biology because some research led her to conclude she could get a physicians assistant's degree in about the...