Those of us with siblings know it’s hard to get along at times; siblings fight and argue. But what happens when they’re on the same team? 

Bri and Elizabeth Williams-Bales are sisters on the wrestling team. The girls began their wrestling journey after seeing their brother wrestle; they both fell in love with the sport at first sight.

“I set Liz to higher expectations, higher than the other girls. I expect her to be a spitting image of me,” said Bri.

She wants the best for her sister even if their life is filled with competition. Even with the family quarrels, they still find a way to keep each other going on the mats.

“We get stressed out a lot, and we end up yelling then saying you know what I’m done,” Liz Williams-Bales.

“Or like we go back later and say this is what you did wrong, and this is what you did right,” said Bri

Even though they might act like they hate each other, they don’t. These sisters would do anything to watch the other succeed; their pre and post match rituals consists of advice. Showing that being on the same team is the best thing that happened to them.  

We have more siblings on the girls wrestling team, twins Sophia and Raina Allen. For them, life on the team is a little different. These two look like, sound alike, and share the same set of skills.

“This year was the only year, since I am usually heavier than Sophie, that I was lighter than her, but then we were the same. She didn’t want to have to wrestle me for state so she went up a weight class” said Raina Allen. 

The twin dynamic for them is positive; they have found advantages within each other. “We like to practice together for sure. We help each other a lot. We can be with each other and practice moves; we’re the same exact size, so when we practice it’s not awkward. But sometimes we get mad,” said Sophia.

Like all siblings their life is competitive but not in the same way; they’ve learned to make names for themselves individually.  “Whenever we wrestle, sometimes she wins, sometimes I win” said Raina. 

 “Raina definitely went farther than me this year since I was injured and wrestled up a weight class,” said Sophia. 

Of course, when there’s identical twins there’s always the parent trap idea of swapping each other out. “When she was in that state she got injured. I’ve definitely thought about swapping her out, maybe our senior year we’ll have to do it” Raina said.

Even if you can’t tell who’s who with these girls when you look at them, on the wrestling mat, they’ve made a big enough impact that you definitely know who’s taking you down.