The reputation of being a party school is not one Chico State likes or wants. But that does not keep incoming freshmen athletes from deciding to call Chico their home during their collegiate career.

What attracts them to the campus is the beauty of it, having the fourth biggest municipal park in California, according to the Center for City Park Excellence, and the great programs they can receive a degree in. Here are a few freshmen athletes talking about why they chose to come to Chico.

Tyler Troxel, a redshirt freshman for men’s cross-country.

Q. How did you hear about Chico State?

A. I heard about Chico State through a few friends. They mentioned how much they liked it, so I did further research on the program here. I found out that Gary Towne, our coach, runs a program that takes maybe not the most talented runners, but it’s a developmental program where you can become great and exceed your own expectations. And I’ve seen phenomenal things done by the team members.

Q. What did you think of the campus during your visit?

A. I took a tour over spring, I believe, my junior year. Fell in love with the campus. Beautiful campus. Heard it was a really great school for business majors, and I am a business major. It seemed like the perfect choice for me and filled my needs.

Q. A year later, what do you think about Chico now?

A. What I like about Chico and will be taking advantage of is Upper Park. Getting in some solid runs and exploring up there. Last year Upper Bidwell was unfamiliar to me.

Natalie Nordahl, freshman for women’s volleyball.

Q. How did you hear about Chico State?

A. I only live two hours from Chico. So it’s sort of local.

Q. Was Chico your first choice when looking at schools?

A. It pretty much was my first choice because they have a good nursing program.

Q. So did you come more for nursing than volleyball?

A. Well, I came for volleyball too. I went to tryouts and they offered me a walk-on spot.

Q. When you first came to Chico, what did you think?

A. The campus was really pretty. And everybody’s nice here. It seemed like a really good environment.

Isaiah Dargan, freshman for men’s soccer.

Q. How did you hear about Chico State?

A. I have a few friends from high school that came here. They told me it was nice. I also wanted to stay in California. It was automatically one of the schools I wanted to go to.

Q. What did you like about Chico when you came to visit?

A. I like how it goes from the college to the downtown area. The dorms are nice too. I like how the dining hall is right below. It’s so short of a walk!

Q. You like the downtown area, so which places have you been too?

A. I’ve been to Jamba Juice. I really like Kinder’s. The other day I had pizza from Celestino’s. That was pretty good.

Sergio Sanchez can be reached at [email protected].