As freshmen in the West Lafayette wrestling program, Jack and Steve Flynn were forced into a unique sibling rivalry.
The identical twins shared the 103-pound weight class, often needing multiple overtime periods to settle the wrestle-offs that determined who would be in the next meet's lineup.
Steve won the wrestle-off before the sectional, and he went on to finish second at the meet and advance to regionals. The head-to-head battles were uncomfortable for the brothers, who have endured constant comparisons since birth.
"I don't think they shared much about how it made them feel," said their mother, Susan Flynn, who said the brothers don't even like to pose for photographs together.
"You could just tell in their demeanor and in the way they dealt with each other that the competition was difficult."
Since splitting off to different weight classes as sophomores, the Flynns have piled up individual accolades. Both are two-time regional qualifiers, and both recently repeated a feat from eighth grade by winning conference titles in the same season.
At Saturday's Lafayette Jeff Sectional, Steve (29-2) will be the No. 1 seed at 130 pounds. Jack (22-3), who missed six weeks with a broken wrist at the start of the season, is the No. 2 seed at 125.
"It used to be a lot more competitive," Steve Flynn said. "Now it's not as bad. It's just like another partner in the room."
Susan and Michael Flynn both teach in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Purdue, and Jack and Steve participated in a variety of sports through grade school.
A friend, Honi Sanders, showed the twins a few wrestling moves in seventh grade, and they decided to give the sport a try.
"As soon as they walked in the door, they got right on the mat and held their own with anybody within a 10-pound range that had maybe a year's experience on them, or two," WL coach Rick Roseman said. "They picked everything up very quickly."
The following season, Jack and Steve won WCJC titles at 80 and 85 pounds, respectively.
After a junior season in which Jack finished fourth at sectional and Steve failed to qualify for regional, the Flynns came back strong as seniors. They are a combined 51-5 this season and have allowed only 17 total takedowns.
Roseman said both will qualify for the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-State team as well.
Jack and Steve still occasionally square off in the Red Devils' "King of the Mat" competitions. The smallest team member takes on the next-biggest wrestler, with the winner of each match staying in the middle.
"Usually whoever wins out of them goes on for a while," said Sanders, who often wrestles against Steve Flynn at 130 pounds.
The Flynn family wrestling tradition at West Side added a third member this season. Freshman brother Joe is 19-12 at 103 pounds.
The senior brothers share the same postseason goal: advance through the tough Merillville Semistate to the state tournament.
"I guess that's the goal of all wrestlers -- to be at the highest level you can get to," Jack said.
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