Tommy and Meghan Rowlands recall a family vacation to the beach when they were teenagers.
“Meghan hit her growth spurt before I did,” said Tommy Rowlands, who is the oldest by two years. “So there was a time when I was only 10 or 15 pounds bigger than her. She always said she could beat me in a foot race.”
“We had dad at the end line,” Meghan Rowlands said.
The race commenced with the pair sprinting across the sand in their bathing suits.
“I nudged her out,” Tommy Rowlands said.
“Yeah he beat me at the very end,” Meghan Rowlands admitted. “I had him beat until like 15 yards.”
Meghan and Tommy Rowlands have a relationship just like any other brother and sister at Ohio State, except these two both play varsity sports. Tommy Rowlands is a wrestler for the Buckeyes and the 2002 NCAA national heavyweight champion. Meghan Rowlands has found her niche at OSU on the softball diamond as an outfielder.
“Anything where the slightest bit of competition was involved Meghan and I would turn it into a real big ordeal, especially when we were younger,” Tommy Rowlands said. “Now that we realize the consequences that can come out of us getting into a competitive atmosphere, we try to stay away from it as much as we can.”
The Rowlands’ father, Tom, remembers another incident where the two were a little competitive.
At Bishop Ready High School, where Meghan and Tommy Rowlands attended high school, outstanding student athletes get their pictures hung on the wall. As a two-time state champion, Tommy Rowlands had his picture hung twice on the wall.
Her junior year, Meghan Rowlands was named to the All-Ohio softball team and got her portrait hung.
“Tommy said, ‘You still got one more to go,’ ” Tom Rowlands said.
“Meghan’s and my relationship, I think, is more based on talking to each other about simple random things that really don’t mean much,” Tommy Rowlands said. “We’re not always talking about wrestling or softball; it’s such an everyday activity for us that it’s nice hang out and not talk about it.”
Meghan Rowlands agreed with her brother that spending time together away from sports helps in their relationship.
“Our relationship goes just like every other brother-sister relationship. There’s things more important things than sports, but it’s awesome to have that connection also,” Meghan Rowlands said.
Tommy said having a sibling at the same school that’s a dedicated athlete to talk to is very comforting.
“Our family is really tight knit and close, and having that support in college has been a really big advantage to me,” Tommy Rowlands said.
But while her brother has had more individual success as a Buckeye, Meghan Rowlands said living in his shadow has never been discouraging. In fact, she said it is something that drives her.
“I’ve said many times he’s my biggest role model; he always has been.” Meghan Rowlands said. “I think he’s a great person to look up to and be like. In many ways I aspire to have his work ethic and be the type of athlete and person he is.”
Tommy Rowlands feels the same way about his sister. He said he often feels like a role model to both Meghan and his two other sisters: Katie, who is 17, and Annie, who is 14.
“I always wanted to be the person that my sisters looked up to,” he said. “More and more every day I’m starting figure out that I’m looking up to them. Meghan is definitely a sign of that. When she got to the age where she was taking care of things on her own, I realized I shouldn’t have been trying to be a role model. I should have been looking to her as an example because of how hard she works and her persistence. When she wants something its a pretty scary thing because she’s going to get it done.”
The support they give each other isn’t the only support they cherish.
“We’ve also got four other really close family members just a 20 minute drive away. Their support, just them being there has been equally as important to me as Meghan has,” Tommy Rowlands said.
Meghan Rowlands was also quick to point out her parents’ dedication to their family.
“The sacrifices that our parents have made, like driving across the country. Every single weekend there’s probably three different places in the Midwest that all of us are spread out to,” Meghan Rowlands said. “I just think it’s amazing the things my parents have done growing up to help us accomplish the goals that we’ve set for ourselves.”
Meghan Rowlands said her father was always comparing life to sports.
“I think (sports) is a small laboratory for life,” Tom Rowlands said. “You set goals and learn to deal with them.”
Those lessons have apparently stuck with both Tommy and Meghan Rowlands.
“When you get the end of the road and you look back, it’s not the accomplishments that you remember, it’s the journey.” Tommy Rowlands said. “I think that that’s the message that my parents were trying to get across to us. It’s really not about the success stories, it’s what you learn from point A to point B that matters.
“As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized it was more about what we got out of athletics and how we can apply that to our everyday lives,” he said.
