Anytime there are two wrestlers in the family, there are bound to be a few scraps every now and then.
Indianola brothers Cain and Mac Crosson weren’t any different. Two grades apart, the pair had some battles at home, at school and at the Sebolt Wrestling Academy while growing up.
The venues weren’t always orthodox, either. As Mac Crosson tells it, they used to find their way to a trampoline and wrestle there. Thankfully for them, there was a safety net to avoid taking a big blast-double takedown or worse off the edge.
“If that wasn’t there, somebody could have got severely injured,” Mac Crosson said.
The trampoline is just slightly different than the Iowa state wrestling tournament, where the Crossons are enjoying a new venue to compete at this week. For the first time, they are taking the mat inside Casey’s Center to battle for Iowa’s ultimate prize, a state title.
After Mac Crosson won his first state title as a sophomore last season, he is back this year at 165 pounds alongside Cain Crosson, a freshman at 113 pounds. The pair opened their state tournaments with dominant technical falls on Feb. 18.
Cain Crosson had an 18-1 technical fall with some tough turns against Maxwell Baccam of Carlisle, while Mac Crosson had a great effort from neutral with a 21-5 technical fall over Urbandale’s Jackson Brown.
Class 3A competition was set to continue on Feb. 19 with quarterfinals.
The two don’t get to clash as much as they used to, considering there is now more than a 50-pound weight difference between the two. Even so, they still trained during the holiday break against one another to keep up their spirits with the brief time off.
It’s safe to say that when they face off against each other, the same level of fierceness has remained to this day, even if it’s not as often.
“We still train, we just can’t go for over like 30 minutes or it will end up in a fight,” Mac Crosson said. “It’s fun having him in the room.”
Having won a state title already, Mac Crosson has the ability to pass down wisdom to his younger brother. Cain Crosson is wrestling at 113 pounds, the same weight his older brother competed at as a freshman when he became a state medalist two years ago. Mac Crosson has not only grown into a state champion since his days as a 113-pounder, but also a future Division I wrestler as a Nebraska commit.
Mac Crosson’s advice to his little brother was to not make the state tournament bigger than it is in his head and to just go out and dominate like he knows he’s capable of doing. Even though his words aren’t always taken seriously in the moment, he knows those words can prove valuable when wrestling gets tough.
“It’s also nice just being able to teach him things I know,” Mac Crosson said. “He just doesn’t listen, but it helps at some points.”
Both brothers have legitimate state title aspirations this time around. They are a combined 65-2 this season after Wednesday’s opening day of the state tournament. If their wrestling continues at this pace, a special moment could be at play when champions are crowned on Feb. 21.
“We’re trying to win it together,” Cain Crosson said. “It would be a really fun experience if we both came out with a win.”
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Indianola Crosson brothers enjoy first Iowa state wrestling tournament together
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
