JAMESTOWN — It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke.
“Two sets of triplets walk into a school … ”
But in this case, there is no punch line. It’s happened every day at Greeneview High School for the past four years and now Craig, Hannah, and Kayla Finley and Max, Sam, and Zeke Powers are going to make history Friday inside Cedarville University’s Dixon Ministry Center.
The Powers trio will be the first triplets to attend Greeneview schools from kindergarten through 12th grade, while the Finley siblings will — by virtue of alphabetical order — be the first triplets to actually receive diplomas from GHS.
It’s been an interesting and fun ride for all six.
“After the first year it was normal,” said Max. “It was crazy the first year but it was (just) another day.”
Just another day is how they all treat being a triplet.
“It feels like super normal to me,” said Sam. “I’ve also lived like this my entire life. Every now and then we make a joke that man, it’s crazy that there’s six of us here.”
At first there were only three — Max, Sam, and Zeke.
The Finleys lived in Dublin through seventh grade before moving into the Greeneview district in eighth grade. They thought they were the Greeneview triplets.
“I didn’t even know until like the third week,” Craig said.
But then word spread around the school.
“A lot of people said, ‘Oh, there’s another set of triplets.’ ” Hannah said.
Added Max with a smile, “Everyone was like, they’re replacing you.”
That sense of humor and how all six carry themselves has resonated with Principal Neal Kasner.
“All six of them are great school citizens,” he said. “They are excellent students, respectful young people, and have made others better. Their personality shines through. Probably, the one thing that sticks with me is they were the exact same people everyday. Just consistently great people.”
Because Greeneview is a smaller school, the triplets often had classes together and are together often. It wasn’t a big deal around the school but when Hannah and Kayla are out somewhere, the inevitable question pops up — especially since the two have a strong resemblance.
“People are asking me and Hannah if we’re twins,” Kayla said. “I’m like, no, we’re triplets.”
Making matters more interesting is that all six are members of the Greeneview track team. A triple threat times two.
Max, Sam, and Zeke form a powersful, uh, powerful 3,200 relay team with Noah Sylvester as the fourth member. They hold the school record in the event and always draw a crowd.
“There was one official who came up to me,” Zeke said. “He was asking (if we were triplets.) He thought it was funny.”
Sam had a fellow runner approach him with the same type of question.
“He was like, are you one of the triplets,” Sam said. “He was kind of like, oh crap, I’ve got to run against the triplets. Apparently we’re somewhat of a big deal.”
The Finleys also have their reputation precede them as they are top-notch sprinters.
“A lot of the district (meet) teams ask me what grade we’re in because they can’t wait for (us) to graduate,” Craig said.
He is also in the unique position of being kind of the odd-man out — literally and figuratively — by having sisters. But he really doesn’t see it that way, even though he had a tad bit of trouble expressing it.
“I don’t feel like they’re my sisters,” Craig said, eliciting a couple odd looks and laughs from Hannah and Kayla.
“I don’t think of them like gender,” he quickly added.
Nice save.
In reality, all six are pretty close within their respective families. Track and the uniqueness of being triplets eventually brought all six closer together.
“This year is when we all became better friends,” Kayla said.
Come next year the dynamic will be different, however.
The Powers boys are all going to the University of Cincinnati — where older sister Abby is a student — but they don’t plan to be roommates.
“I do see the advantages of living together because we’ve done it for 19 years,” Sam said. “(But) I kind of just want to get out and get like a different person.” He added that was part of the reason he chose to attend the career center the last two years and study cybersecurity.
Zeke also has a roommate picked out.
“Max is on his own,” he quipped.
Kayla is heading to The Ohio State University while Hannah will be at Clark State University studying online from home. Craig is unsure of his immediate plans.
So for the first time in years the Finley girls won’t see each other regularly.
“We shared a room our whole lives,” Hannah said.
Even though she said it gets “annoying at times,” they will likely find a way to see each other as often as possible.
And that’s no joke.
