Siblings, but no longer rivals
John VanBrill didn't want to drive his younger brother, Mike, to school last year. Growing up, they had a sibling rivalry. They shared a room at home, and Mike used to leave his clothes on John's side to "make sure he picked them up," a small part of his successful plan to annoy John.
John VanBrill didn't want to drive his younger brother, Mike, to school last year.
Growing up, they had a sibling rivalry. They shared a room at home, and Mike used to leave his clothes on John's side to "make sure he picked them up," a small part of his successful plan to annoy John.
The rivalry carried over to wrestling. According to Clearview coach Keith Mourlam, John and Mike regularly argued and wanted to fight over who was better or was going to be better in their first year together.
The two brothers have different personalities - John is more intense and shows his emotions, and Mike is more laid-back - but both are competitive.
This year, the VanBrill brothers have gotten along. John is a senior and Mike is a sophomore and they are both 24-0, at 145 and 126 pounds, respectively. They now are helping each other on Clearview's 19-1 team.
"I think there's more support push right now than fighting [with] each other on who's better," Mourlam said. "I think they're trying to help each other get better."
Their relationship changed last summer. The brothers attended a grueling 28-day wrestling camp at the University of Minnesota that included four workouts per day. The two leaned on each other to get through it.
"That brought us a lot closer," said John VanBrill, who went 38-2 and won Region 8 last year. "This is the year we've made the biggest leap growing together."
"The camp was mentally driving," said Mike VanBrill, who finished third in District 29 and went 31-7 last season. "I'm glad I had him by my side because I probably couldn't have finished it without him."
The VanBrill brothers are a part of a family legacy at Clearview. John broke his cousin Kevin's school record when he won his 122d match in January. John's father and uncles also wrestled.
Neither John nor Mike could think of a VanBrill boy who didn't wrestle, and the two estimated that about 10 VanBrills wrestled in District 29, but they've lost count.
"It's basically just being a VanBrill," Mike said. "It runs in the family. I actually asked to play basketball when I was little and they said, 'No VanBrill ever plays basketball.' I was pretty much forced into the sport, but I'm glad I was now."
"I think it was just being in the environment," John added. "At Christmas parties, they're talking wrestling and wrestling around. All the relatives just love to scrap. I was just born into that environment."
Mourlam has coached for 30 years, including stops at Virginia Tech and as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa. He sees the qualities and skills in John and Mike that he saw in other great brother combinations.
"They've grown up doing this, and I think this has been the plan for them to be successful in this sport and doing it," Mourlam said. "They both know how to wrestle and know the situations they're in and are very competitive. I think both of them can be as good as they want to be."
With only a few weeks left in their impressive seasons, the brothers are "the most ready they've been for a postseason," according to John. No matter how their seasons finish, though, he at least no longer minds giving his brother a ride to school.
