By Rich Winter

605 Sports

HARTFORD — When Keaton Vessells was a little boy he remembers watching Ultimate Fighting Championships with his dad. 

Amidst the carnage on the screen Vessells picked out “wrestling” as something he wanted to do.

“I was dancing around on the ground but those fights were fun to watch,” Vessells said. “My dad asked me if I wanted to try wrestling and I told him, yeah.” 

Sitting on the couch that day watching the berth of wrestling begin in the Vessells household was Keaton’s younger brother Karson. Separated by two years, the brothers discovered their love of wrestling together and have been honing their crafts and surpassing major wrestling milestones at nearly the same time.

“Last year we both achieved 100 wins in the same dual meet,” Karson Vessells, a sophomore, said. “This year we both went over 150 career wins at the conference tournament.”

Sharing the spotlight doesn’t seem to matter in the slightest to older brother Keaton, now a senior said. 

“I actually think it’s kind of cool that we get to do it together,” Keaton Vessells said. “You don’t hear that much about brothers breaking these kinds of milestones together. 

And there are plenty of milestones left for Karson Vessells to achieve.

“If he keeps wrestling the way he is I think he has a chance to surpass 200 wins as a junior,” Cole Grocott, West Central coach said. “James Lemke is the all-time wins leader for West Central with 204 career wins and if Karson stays healthy he will finish well ahead of that.”

The two brothers that grew up in the same household and have been coached by the same coaches have vastly different styles. 

“Karson is a pinner and he goes out on the mat with the mentality that he’s going to do whatever it takes to win,” Grocott said. “Keaton is a little more finesse and he’s probably a little better on his feet. The rule-change to three points for a takedown this season is something that has really helped Keaton.”

Brothers on and off the mat Karson Vessells talked about a recent loss his older brother helped him through.

“He’s always been there for me even though it's a tough loss,” Karson Vessells said. “Brody Randall beat me at a tournament and he was right there encouraging me and telling me how I’m going to win that match next time.” 

Grocott said the brotherly bond has been good for both brothers, particularly Karson who has some big footsteps to follow. 

“Karson has always been around and Keaton is a great athlete,” Grocott said. “He’s a two-time state football player and whenever there is an all-star baseball team, Keaton is usually on it.”

Both brothers have third place finishes at the state wrestling tournament on their resumes. Both say finishing higher on the podium this season is something they think about every day. 

Both wrestlers will be in action Saturday as the No. 4 seeded West Central wrestlers meet No. 5 seed Pierre in the first round of the Class A state dual tournament in Pierre. 

Karson Vessells is ranked No. 4 (126) and Keaton Vessells is also No. 4 (157) in the latest Dakota Grappler rankings.