Students cheer at walleye game

11/10/2011

Lindsay Nissen, standing, left, in foreground, and Ana Rofkar, right, sixth graders at Genoa Middle School, join a record number of students at the Toledo Walleye third annual ‘School Celebration Day' at Huntington Center.

Attendance for the Walleye organization-sponsored game Wednesday was 6,605, topping last season's crowd of 6,033. The farthest students traveled was from Ridgedale Elementary in Morral, Ohio, 93 miles from Toledo.

Partners in Education, a locally funded agency that enhances student success through community engagement, sent 300 students from five Toledo Public Schools through its College Coach program.

"The key part for us is the follow-up," said Becky Spencer, Partners in Education executive director. "Some of the players are going to go into the classroom and talk about character and the importance of setting goals so the kids think ahead." The Walleye fell to the Chicago Express, 7-4.