Twin wrestlers are very
competitive with each other

It isn't often that an illness helps solve a family athletic problem. But, it did for 11-year-old identical twins, Matthew and Nicholas Lester.

Matt and Nick have been wrestling since they were six and both have earned All-American honors in youth tournaments. And, until this summer, that meant they oftentimes had to wrestle each other.

Father Greg Lester said, "Every time they wrestled each other, it was very emotional--for them, for my wife and me and for their grandparents.

"They'd rather lose to just about anyone than each other."

This summer, Nick got sick for awhile and lost a few pounds. At the same time, Matt had a little growth spurt and gained some weight.

That meant they were entered last month in different weight classes for the national State Games of America competition. Nick wrestled in the 65-pound weight class while Matt was in the 70-pound class.

Father Greg hopes they'll be able continue avoiding each other in future meets.

So far, that hasn't been too easy because the boys have weighed within a pound of each other for most of their lives. They were born just four minutes apart, which makes Matt the oldest. He's happy to point that out to anyone who asks.

If you really want an argument, just ask which of the two is the better wrestler. To say they are competitive with each other is an understatement.

Asked about their wrestling start, Nick said, "We fought a lot when we were young. My dad had been a high school wrestler. He thought wrestling might cut down on our fights."

About the recent change in weights, Matt said, "I eat more than he does. That means I'll wrestle at a heavier weight."

Nick added, "That way, we won't have to wrestle each other and argue about who wins."

Both brothers have set a goal of wrestling in the Olympic Games.

Nick said, "I want to win the Olympics in 2008 when I'm 18. Then, I want to win in four different Olympics."

Matt also wants to in the Olympics but he's willing to wait until he's 22 before earning a gold medal.

Their plans for college also center around wrestling. Among their choices are Iowa State, Iowa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. All have powerful wrestling programs.

The boys wrestle with two different programs. For in-state competitions, the boys wrestle with the Bonhomme Wrestling Club. For national tournaments, they wrestle with the Purler Wrestling Academy team.

Their wrestling coach is Nick Purler, who along with his twin brother, Tony, were All-American wrestlers in Oklahoma.

The boys have a varied conditioning program. They do several types of pull-ups, from the standard, the wide, the backward and something called the "commando." That's a pull-up where your hands are in line on the bar and you lift so that your head goes first on one side of the bar and then the other.

They've found a way to get their running in without going outside when it's too hot or too cold. They just double the number of "stairs" exercises. This is when they run up and down the stairs between the basement and the first floor.

A normal exercise involves doing 23 round-trips on the stairs in six minutes. If it's too hot or too cold outside, they double the "stairs" to 46 round-trips.

So far, they haven't limited their sports activities. They've also competed in football, basketball, soccer and baseball. But, as they get older they expect to cut back on the number of sports.

Nick said, "By the time I'm a junior in high school, I'll only be wrestling."

Matt said, "I'll play soccer and wrestling in high school but I'll only wrestle in college."

The twins usually have a good contingent of fans when they wrestle. In addition to their parents, Greg and Tereasa, they have three other siblings, Brent, 17; Tara, 5, and Ryan, 6 months. And then there are also the grandparents and others.

Now that they're wrestling in different weight classes, the family doesn't have to have any divided loyalties. And, the twins won't have to be too emotional at the end of a match.