Redshirt sophomore Christian Hinrichs now balances school, football, and track as he jumps into a new role on the track team. 

The Charger football cornerback made the decision last fall to join the track and field team as a jumper, competing in the long and triple jumps. 

“I joined this last fall, at the end of the football season. We had our last football game on Saturday, and then our banquet on Sunday, and then I was practicing with track on Monday night, so it was crazy,” Hinrichs said. 

Hinrichs sought to join the track team after remembering how much he enjoyed it in high school. 

“I did track in high school, but I didn’t get a ton of time to do it because of COVID-19. My sophomore year was canceled, and most of my junior year was canceled. So I really wanted to come back to that, because my senior year was super fun,” Hinrichs said. 

Although he enjoys track, Hinrichs said it has been difficult to fit into his schedule.

“We’ve had lifts for football in the mornings and then practice for track in the afternoons along with film for football,” Hinrichs said. “Football is every other day and track is every day, so I skip track on days with football and go to track on days without football. It means I have six practices a week, four lifts, and six hours of film, so it’s a lot.”

Hinrichs received support from all his coaches, but specifically his head coach, Nate Shreffler. 

“Coach Shreffler was a dual sport athlete here as well. He threw for track and played football until he quit track his sophomore year. But I talked to him and he said he wished he went back to throwing after he finished football,” Hinrichs said. “It’s cool having coaches that were in your exact position, and it’s a very Hillsdale unique thing.”

Hinrichs did not have to switch up too much of his training because his events required a similar style of training to his football position. 

“Football and jumping are really similar, because in both you’re not going to be running further than 30 or 40 yards,” Hinrichs said. “The training for football has a lot more lifting than track does, because for track when you’re in season, ideally you want to be in peak form for as long as you can, and then you train in the offseason.”

Hinrichs does not see scheduling conflicts in the fall between both sports being an issue as they mostly occupy different times of the year. 

“For track there are not any meets until the very end of the football season in the fall, so until then I’ll probably just go to a team meeting or two for track and swing by to let them know I’m still training,” Hinrichs said.

One difference he has noticed between football and track is how the team interacts with each other.

“The environment on the track team is so different, and I think the main reason why is because it is co-ed,” Hinrichs said. “When it’s just guys on the football team, I feel there’s a lot more of a strong brotherhood. But there’s downsides to that, where people aren’t always on their best behavior. Track is more chill and everyone is a lot nicer to each other.”

Senior Cass Dobrowolski believes Hinrichs has rejuvenated the track team with his example as a dual sport athlete.

“Christian came with a burst of life for our team. I think it’s pretty reasonable to believe that track and football require two different types of attitudes, but it has been great to be able to learn from how he approaches athletics and to be able to share how we treat athletics,” Dobrowolski said. 

Hinrich’s demeanor has made him a perfect fit for the jump squad, Dobrowolski said.
“He has fit in great. We have a handful of fun personalities on the jumps squad and he has fit right in with that,” Dobrowolski said. “He brings a level of energy and dedication that makes it easy to look up to him.”

Senior Ryan Van Havel said Hinrichs has been a great complement to the team.

“He’s fit in well, definitely a fun addition. Several times per practice he’ll hit one of his emotes which are entertaining for everyone,” Van Havel said. 

Hinrichs also sees track as a tool toward his goal of going to graduate school. 

“It will be a lot easier to get into a grad school program using athletics, so hopefully I could find a way to transfer into a masters program and do track at a Division I or Division II school that has a really good economics program,” Hinrichs said. “Jumping for track is an awesome way to keep doing sports and continue my education through that.”