Rachel and Becca Greenwall have done things together their entire lives. They train together, work out together and always have been in school together.
So it only made sense that they made a collegiate decision together.
The Baylor School twins recently spurned an opportunity to run cross country for Kentucky and instead chose to commit to Georgia Southern, which is three hours away from their native Bogart, Ga.
The two were part of one of the most successful cross country teams in Baylor history and will be among four members of the three-time defending state champions to sign Division I scholarships.
Rachel, a two-time state champion in Georgia, and Becca – twice a runner-up – placed third and fourth in Tennessee’s Division II-AA state meet in November.
“When we sat down and talked about it, we decided that running for an SEC school didn’t have to be everything,” said Rachel, who is five minutes older. “We wanted to go where we would be most happy and to the place we would enjoy the most and would help us the most academically.”
Becca said the Eagles’ difference in proximity was a factor as well.
“We live about three hours from Georgia Southern,” she said. “We’re about five hours from Kentucky. We went and liked both schools, so it really just came down to what we both wanted.
“We both have the same likes and dislikes and are pretty much carbon copies of each other and do everything together, so it was a mutual decision between the two of us.”
The twins, who transferred from North Oconee High School before enrolling at Baylor for this school year, agreed that the experience and decision to take advantage of the opportunity was well worth it.
“For us to come be a part of a team that had a shot at winning state was an honor in itself,” Becca said. “Knowing our team was as good as it was took a lot of stress off us because we knew we had others to back us up if we didn’t run as well as we could.”
Said Rachel: “It was one of the best decisions ever for us to come up here. I wish we could have come here as freshmen, but we didn’t have the opportunity, so I’m glad we came once we did. I wouldn’t trade this time for any in the world.”