Editor’s note: This is the first in a series about athletes who play multiple sports.

While many college students do not find themselves going to sleep until a few hours before 5 a.m., junior Reynae Hutchinson often finds herself just waking up at that time.

Even on days off, she is up before the average college student begins classes.

“If I get to sleep past 8 o’clock, that’s sleeping in for me,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson is a two-sport athlete at Eastern and rest — let alone any sleep at all — is rare for the Mattoon native.

She is the first baseman for the softball team and is the outside hitter for the volleyball team.

Hutchinson has started 24 games at first base this season for Panther softball, driving in 10 RBIs and batting .246.

She ranks seventh on Eastern’s Top 10 career list with 11 home runs.

Hutchinson is also a team captain for Panther volleyball. She earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors after her 2012 campaign, as she led the Panthers with 336 kills.

She is one of few athletes on Eastern’s campus who participates in multiple sports — a shrinking number with year-round conditioning a necessity for almost every sport.

The fact that Hutchinson’s path to Eastern was partly paved by Illinois State denying her the opportunity to play both softball and volleyball is proof that a two-sport athlete is far less favored in college athletics.

Therefore, she represents the exception, not the rule.

She wakes up at 5 a.m. three times a week for individual and team practices for volleyball, followed by afternoon classes. Her days wrap up with a combination of indoor and outdoor softball practices, lifting, and a two-and-a-half hour night class on Wednesdays.

“Some people have time to fit in a nap, well, I don’t have that,” Hutchinson said.

Wednesdays become the most difficult days, she said.

She begins her day with the routine volleyball workout, and then has a three-hour window dedicated strictly to homework. Then she is off to class for two hours, immediately followed by two hours of softball practice and two hours of weight lifting.

It is not until 6 p.m. when she has another break in her schedule only to eat and shower before she has her night class from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

“My mom always says, ‘Reynae, you’re going to run yourself to death,’” she said. “Because I do. If I don’t have anything to do, I freak out.”

But it is routine for Hutchinson. She has been playing softball since she was 8 years old and volleyball since she was 12, so for the better part of her life, she has been juggling the two sports.

“You get to the point where you are able to get through the day, even when you are really worn out,” Hutchinson said.

While it has become more difficult than ever in college, taking 15 credit hours, Hutchinson said managing her busy schedule is worth it.

Her freshman year after volleyball season, Hutchinson had a two-week span where she was free of both sports.

She said she spent the entire two weeks nearly lost because she had no idea what to do with her time.

Hutchinson said that made her realize how much she needs her busy schedule, and she could never see herself giving it up.

“I like the competition, the adrenaline, the excitement, all those emotions come along with the sport,” Hutchinson said. “That’s something I’m not ready to give up yet, and I probably won’t be for a long time.”

The competitive nature of both softball and volleyball is what keeps Hutchinson in love with each sport.

So in love that she said she would rather choose not having both sports in her life than choosing between the two.

“I refuse to choose between them,” Hutchinson said.

Anthony Catezone can be reached at 581-2812 or ajcatezone@eiu.edu.