NIXA — At first glance, Courtney Frerichs didn’t look much different than the high school students parading around the Nixa High School football game on Friday night.
That is, until the crowd waiting for the gates to open started chanting her name when she arrived, and she finally took a spot at an autograph table, with a security guard standing nearby.
That’s the mark of an Olympic athlete returning to her hometown, where an adoring crowd came out to see her, get an autograph and maybe a selfie.
“It’s incredible, they’ve been behind me this whole time,” Frerichs said.