Senior athletes return for fifth-year after spring 2020 season cut short

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Senior athletes return for fifth-year after spring 2020 season cut short
Sam Catron swings during the Chargers’ second game against Ursuline on Tuesday. (Julia Mullins | Collegian)

Countless college athletes had an abrupt end to their spring seasons, but four Hillsdale College seniors weren’t ready to finish their athletic career just yet. 

Seniors Ian Brown, Andrew Verbrugge, Sam Catron, and Allysa Viola decided to return to Hillsdale as fifth-year student-athletes. 

Brown found out that his final outdoor track and field season was canceled during spring break, but returning for a fifth year wasn’t originally a part of Brown’s plan. He already had a full-time job lined up and ended his career with a personal record and an All-Conference award in the 60-meter hurdles. But now he’s back for more. 

“I feel very old,” Brown said. “The freshmen are like, ‘Haha TikTok’ and I’m like, ‘Oh that’s what my little sister does.’ They’re  a year older than my sister.”  

After leaving his job with Hilldsale’s Student Activities Board, Brown said he is focusing primarily on the team. 

“I like to think about myself more as a big brother,” Brown said. “I am always there for people to go to.” 

For Charger pitcher Verbrugge, his final baseball season was interrupted in the middle of the week, just 12 games into the season. At the time, he had a full-time job lined up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a business analytics company. Instead of taking the job, Verbrugge made the choice to come back to Hillsdale and compete for one more season.
Now that he’s been back on campus, Verbrugge has been investing more time with his team and helping the underclassmen, he said.

“At first it was kinda weird,” he said “After a few days I kinda got readjusted to it and made some good friendships with underclassmen.” 

Catron’s spring softball season was canceled while she and her team were in Florida for their annual spring training trip. After finding out her season was canceled, her head coach Kye Gross asked if she would come back if eligible. 

The shortstop considered completing a double major in order to stay for a fifth year. 

“I just kinda prayed about it, and if God wanted me to do this, it would work out,” Catron said. “And it did.” 

Catron’s exercise science major is already completed, and she is now pursuing a second major in sport management. 

Catron said she is planning on taking full advantage of this second chance. 

“I think this is our second chance at pouring into people here,” she said. “It’s a second chance at school, second chance at softball, and second chance at relationships and getting to know people.”

She is also excited to be back on the team and meet the freshmen. 

“I had these girls as recruits before so I kinda knew them, but I never thought I would have the chance to get to know them,” Catron said. “Actually being able to establish relationships and get to love them and pour into them has been awesome.”

With big plans for the season, Catron discussed some of her goals. 

“I would love to have three conference championships under my belt,” she said. “It will be tough. The softball team is working extremely hard this year and I am excited.”

Viola, a pole vaulter on the women’s track and field team, had many reasons that made coming back the right decision. 

“There was a lot more that went into the decision than just the academic component,” Viola said. “There was a lot more that I wanted to contribute to the Hillsdale college community: the athlete community, the track community, and just the student community at large.”

Once Viola was cleared to compete after an illness, she embraced the opportunity to put in more hard work and finish her career on a high note.

“To see the announcement and see everything fall apart in a day was heartbreaking,” Viola said. “It wasn’t the matter of the season being over, it was that our careers would be over.” 

However, Viola wasn’t ready to accept her retirement. 

“I didn’t stop training,” Viola said. “I couldn’t stop working out. I knew I was doing it for something. It’s the spirit of being an athlete.”

The opportunity to come back to Hillsdale was an opportunity she deserved and was looking for. 

“I had this opportunity and everything kinda fell into place,” Viola said. “I had the reasons to come back across the country for another year to add a biology minor and to compete and train more. I love it. Nothing in my life has brought me more joy competing than relationships and family. There is nothing more fun than pole vaulting.”

Like all the fifth-year athletes, Viola said she is excited to welcome the freshmen on the team and compete together. 

“Because our track team is so old, having some fifth-years on the team is so important,” she said. “They have inspired us fifth-years to step it up and it’s nostalgic to see the freshman come in. I think some of the strongest relationships are between freshmen and fifth-years. We have that protective instinct being seniors. We see our freshmen as being really special.”

For some of these student athletes, a fifth year means adding in another major or minor, and for some, it’s about investing in their teams and the future of their respective programs. But for all of them, it’s about making the most of this final chance to compete.