University of Georgia Athletics
Two Drops, One Impact
October 13, 2016 | Cross Country
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Jessica and Sam Drop aren't identical twins, or so they claim.
Born "a few minutes" apart, Jessica Drop is an inch taller at 5-foot-4, and the watch she wears on her left wrist (facedown, another tell) has a teal wristband. Sam's watch is the same model, worn on her right wrist, but it has a purple band. Sam makes fun of her sister for wearing her watch face down.
There, now you can totally tell them apart, right?
"I think they're identical and I think they should get tested," said Georgia cross country teammate Morgan Green. And if anyone knows it's Green, who until she was 18 thought she had a fraternal twin sister -- until a test revealed that they were identical.
"It's not too late for them," Green said, laughing.
What is certain for the look-an-awful-lot-alike Drop twins is that they're freshmen runners on Georgia's women's cross country squad -- and that they've had an immediate impact.
Jessica won her first collegiate race, the UGA Cross Country Invitational, a 5K race, and earlier this month placed third in a field of more than 400 runners at the 6K Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa. Sam placed second behind only her sister in the season opener and at the Paul Short was 43rd, and Georgia's No. 2 finisher.
The twins and the Georgia cross country teams are back in action Friday morning in the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
In three collegiate races, Jessica's finished in the top eight in each, while Sam has been in the top 43. These twins and tenacious runners from Durham, Conn., these high school All-Americans, are changing Georgia women's distance running. Georgia has also gotten a boost from freshman Yanely Gomez, who was the team's No. 3 finisher at the Paul Short.
"We anticipated that they would be good, we anticipated that this freshman group would add not only talent but intensity and enthusiasm, and it's definitely come true," distance coach Patrick Cunniff said.
"We knew they were all talented, but I don't think we knew how talented they really were," Green said. "They have opened up our eyes; we had team goals but I think we're seeing that we may need to re-evaluate those team goals because we can probably do better than we expected."
Growing up in Connecticut, running wasn't the first love for either. The twins played soccer together until third grade, Sam said, when she quit.
"It was actually because I didn't like running," she said, drawing a double round of Drop laughter.
Come middle school, Jessica was still loving her soccer and Sam was playing softball in the spring, but she wanted something to do in the fall. Sam thought she could be a good runner and, earlier aversion aside, took to it. Jess, meanwhile, didn't start running track until high school. And she wasn't a big deal right away.
"To be honest, I hated running until like the end of my sophomore year," Jessica said. "She had to drag me out to go on runs, I hated it, and soccer was always my thing. I was starting the recruiting process for soccer and it wasn't until my junior year, after I went to a soccer camp, that I realized that I missed running more than I ever missed soccer."
By the end of their sophomore years of high school, the Drop twins were runners -- good runners. And they kept getting better.
While Sam had proven herself as a cross country and track runner in high school, her sister arrived at Georgia with a stellar track resume but having competed in one cross-country race in her life. Jessica's second ever race, and first wearing the Bulldogs' red and black, resulted in a win. Perhaps more impressive, given the depth of the field, was the third-place finish at the Paul Short, in her fourth ever cross-country race.
"I did not think I'd be beating these kinds of people. ... It's hard to right now put it all in perspective, but I've been trying to do that," Jessica said. "I kind of just listen to Coach and do what he says, because I don't know what else to do, basically."
When it comes to morning distance training runs, which Green said have definitely gotten faster this season, the Drop sisters will often run together. But this sometimes poses a problem.
"We always pick up the pace when we're together and we're always like, oh no, it's supposed to be slow this morning," Sam said.
Speed work is another matter. "Distance days we go together, usually, and speed days, I can't keep up with Jess," Sam said.
The Drops live together and log a lot of miles training together, but they're not always side by side. That's because their interests don't always align. While Jessica has a more single-minded focus, on being the best runner she can, Sam is an animal lover that has already joined the UGA Dairy Science Club.
Sam also plays the piano and trombone.
"I tried piano and I tried to play the saxophone, but I was just never good at it," Jessica said. "And I was never interested in animals -- like, I was afraid of dogs for the longest time. I don't think the cows would have been any better."
That brought another big laugh, something the twins did together a lot during a 15-minute interview. Running fast, laughing, enjoying their time at Georgia, they do it all -- together. Well, except the whole cow thing.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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