PARKERSBURG — Kerwyn and Kyla Marshall, two sibling runners from Parkersburg South, have signed up to compete at two separate universities. The brother, Kerwyn, has decided to attend Ohio Valley University. The sister, Kyla Marshall, has signed up to run for Concord University. Both student athletes have been very involved in a few of the athletic programs at South. Kerwyn played basketball and ran all four years of his high school career. His sister, Kyla, played volleyball and basketball. It wasn’t until her senior year that Kyla decided that she wanted to compete on the Patriots cross country team. “It made it easier on the family going in one direction instead of two all the time,” said Bill Marshall, father of Kerwyn and Kyla. “As luck would have it, they both really took to it. Kerwyn’s been a really good runner for a number of years here at South and finally made states this year. It was a beautiful opportunity for his sister to join him and she had a great season also and was able to forge out a scholarship opportunity at Concord with just one year of cross country.” Attending and studying at two different universities will be the first time both twins have lived separately from one another. “I toured there (OVU) back in January, and I really had a decision to make there between Concord and OVU,” said Kerwyn. “It was tough leaving her. She’s my other half. We’re twins so it’s a big factor. She had a big impact on my decision, but OVU felt right and it felt like home.” There are many factors for an upcoming high school graduate on deciding which school they want to attend. Both student athletes were looking for a place that felt like home as well as an environment they felt would help them achieve success. For Kyla, the size of Concord mattered. “It’s a small school. I definitely wanted a small school. I didn’t want to get lost in the mix of things,” said Kyla. ” It’s got what I wanted to major in which is pre-physical therapy/biology, and I have a close family friend that goes down there and she runs as well. So that made me more comfortable with going to a school like that.” Kerwyn decided to study physical coaching education and was impressed with the overall coaching staff at OVU. “I really liked the coach there. Coach Hesson is a great man,” said Kerwyn. “Once I toured there and talked to him for a while, I really had it set there. He ran in Alabama University and that is impressive. He’s got an impressive resume. He’s a great coach and he knows what he’s doing. It really set him apart and away from all the other schools.” Head coach for track, Jason Evans, always knew the siblings were runners from when he coached them in middle school.