Appalachian State field hockey goalkeeper Rachel Gaines’s first year in college was very different than her second. Now a sophomore, Gaines spent her freshman year redshirting in Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio State field hockey team, roughly 420 miles and a little under eight hours away from Boone. Despite the transition and her distance from home, Gaines has become one of the field hockey team’s stars on and off the field.
A native of Kettering, Ohio, Gaines grew up less than two hours away from Columbus, and kept a constant eye on Ohio State.