By now, most high school sports fans around the area know about the impact that former South-Western City Schools football players Jayshan Jackson and Chris Fuqua have had at new schools this fall.

As is often the case, football gets most of the headlines, but the football players from SWCS weren't the only athletes faced with tough decisions when the August levy failed. Several athletes from the district spent the fall playing key roles for soccer, golf, volleyball and cross country teams across central Ohio.

The fact is that football players transferred out in far greater numbers than athletes in other sports, and with good reason. Not only are there more football players to begin with, but football is one of the few sports left with no club scene. If you want to play football, you play for your high school team, period.

But for athletes in other fall sports, there was plenty of motivation to transfer and compete on a high school team. Some felt they needed to play to improve their status as college recruits, while others just couldn't stand the thought of closing out their senior year without sports.

Matt Walker was a three-year letterwinner on the boys soccer team at Westland. When the June levy failed, he knew he had to find a way to continue his career if the August levy failed. Walker had dreams of playing soccer at the collegiate level, and playing as a senior was imperative if he wanted to keep those dreams alive.

Even so, the choice wasn't easy. It wasn't until he met his potential teammates at Bloom-Carroll that he felt comfortable changing schools.

"I was working out with Bloom-Carroll in the summer, because as you know, we weren't allowed to practice (at Westland)," Walker said. "I just sort of made friends with them, and toward the end of the summer, when the levy ended up failing, we just made the decision that we thought it would be better as far as going to play soccer in college for me to play soccer my senior year at Bloom-Carroll. I feel like the decision wasn't that hard once I started making friends with the team."

Walker, who started at midfield for two years at Westland, earned a starting forward spot at Bloom-Carroll. He played some midfield as well. Walker scored eight goals and had 15 assists as Bloom-Carroll went 11-7 overall and reached a Division III district semifinal. Among his options for next season are Mount Vernon Nazarene, Tiffin, Defiance and Muskingum.

Chris Yanichko found himself in a similar situation early last summer. Yanichko ran cross country and track at Central Crossing, and when the levy failed in June, he wanted to give himself options for the fall. In addition to running with some of his Central Crossing teammates through a club team, he also began training with the Jonathan Alder cross country team.

When the August levy failed, his choice to transfer to Jonathan Alder, which had open enrollment, was clear-cut.

"I just kind of thought of it like, it's going to happen next year when I go to college," Yanichko said of attending a new school. "I might as well get experience with it. I made a lot of new friends. I like the new team a lot. I wouldn't change anything, I don't think."

Yanichko, along with Westland transfer Ben Warner, helped the Pioneers reach the Division II regional as a team for the first time since 1989. Yanichko qualified to state for the first time in his career by finishing seventh at the regional meet on Oct. 31. At state, Yanichko finished 31st in 16 minutes, 58.73 seconds.

"That kind of made it all worthwhile," said Yanichko, who hopes to run cross country in college. "Actually, running at state was probably one of the best days of my life."

Among the others who found success at a new school this fall were girls volleyball standouts Chrissy Ervin and Julie Shives. After lettering three years at Central Crossing, Shives transferred to Hilliard Davidson and started at setter for a Davidson squad that finished 17-8 and reached a district final. Shives made first-team all-district this season. Ervin, a starter at Westland in 2008, moved in with her grandparents in Marietta and quickly earned a starting spot on the varsity team there. She played both right side and outside hitter at Marietta as the team finished 18-5 overall.

Ryan Swartzentruber was one of several Grove City athletes to transfer out. Swartzentruber started at goalie for Jonathan Alder's boys soccer team as the Pioneers finished 10-7-1.

The re-institution of sports in SWCS has given most of these athletes the opportunity to transfer back without penalty, provided they did not change their residency. Still, some have opted to stay put.

Yanichko said he intends to stay at Jonathan Alder and run indoor and outdoor track, and several winter sports athletes who left the district are planning on staying at their new schools. In fact, five of nine expected returnees for the Grove City girls basketball team have transferred and plan on staying with their new teams. Aryealle Beavers, Shicole Watts and Chelsea McKnight are all at Harvest Prep, and Ellen Conti and Brooke Espenschied are at Hilliard Bradley.

Others, like Walker, are taking advantage of the opportunity to move back and finish up their high school careers at home. Walker said the 35-minute commute to Bloom-Carroll was taking its toll and could become dangerous when winter weather hits. On top of that, the prospect of graduating somewhere other than Westland just wasn't something he wanted to face.

"To come back here and graduate with all my friends I've known my whole life, it just seemed like the better option," Walker said. "Even though I am very sad I left Bloom-Carroll, because I did like it a lot."