Senior Drew Ransom played cornerback. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department 

Senior Drew Ransom is a free safety by fall and a sprinter by spring. 

The Charger football player broke free from the field as he flew to a first-place finish in the 200-meter dash during Hillsdale’s first track meet this semester. 

“It was unreal,” Ransom said. “I was definitely excited and proud but mostly just happy. It’s always great to win but the feeling of accomplishment was enough for me.”

Fellow senior, football player, track athlete, and housemate Owen Gardner was only 0.57 seconds behind him.

“It was awesome,” Gardner said. “Especially for Drew working as hard as he did over the winter, it was great to see him succeed in his first meet.”

Gardner is in his third and final season running for the track team in addition to his football duties.  

“I can tell you from being Owen’s roommate and friend that he has scheduled every moment of his life since sophomore year,” Ransom said. “You have to be sure you want to do it and very determined to excel in two sports.”

For Athletic Director John Tharp, watching Gardner and Ransom compete is a throwback to the past, when many great Hillsdale athletes were playing multiple sports.

“The difference now is that kids become specialized in a specific sport so early on that you don’t see dual-sport athletes as often,” Tharp said.” But I’ve always thought a football-track athlete is a natural fit, and so it’s awesome to watch these guys succeed.”

Gardner and Ransom have competed on both track and turf since high school, and have embraced the similarities across both the sports.

“Track is supplemental to football,” Gardner said. “Speed kills. If you can work on that in one season, it helps during the other season. Both great environments, just different feels.”

Gardner attended Cassopolis High School in southwest Michigan, and was part of a graduating class of just 60 students. 

“It was a very small school, which meant I was playing offense, defense, and special teams during football season, and running multiple events during track season,” Gardner said.

Ransom’s childhood was similarly built around the next game or meet on the schedule.

“My mom played soccer at Cincinnati, and my dad played football for Cincinnati and then was in the NFL with the Chiefs, Cardinals, and Jaguars,” Ransom said. “Also my sisters are currently playing soccer at DI schools, so I had a bunch of really big athletic role models in my family.”

Gardner and Ransom do agree though that switching between sports, especially at the collegiate level, can start to take a toll on everything else in their lives.

“It’s doable, but there has to be a sense of reality in the back of your head that you can’t handle two sports at once long-term,” Ransom said. “The moment those sports start affecting things like your grades, you have to re-think whether it’s worth it.”

Gardner added that playing two sports will inherently place different demands on your body.

“Take for example a running back who wants muscle mass, and a track runner who wants to be as strong as possible while still not weighing much,” Gardner said. “Switching back and forth will always wear you down a bit more physically.”

Yet the dual-sport athletes agreed that their football and track coaches work well together, and they feel blessed to be able to pursue two dreams at once.

“I was in the dining hall when Owen introduced me to the track coaches this past fall,” Ransom said. “They didn’t even ask about my times, they just wanted to know if I was serious about joining their family.”

Gardner and Ransom return to the track this Friday in Ohio for the Ashland Lightgiver Invite, as they continue to prepare for the conference championships in May.