The following article is taken from the SME School Newspaper and is about 3 brothers on the wrestling team.

The Hill brothers continue to improve in wrestling through hard work and sibling motivation
Written By: Harbinger Staff

Sweat dripping off of his exhausted face, sophomore David Hill takes a quick glance to his left; no one. He slowly shifts his head forward, now focusing on every individual stair, regaining his pace. He fires a look to his right. A look of panic suddenly comes over him. It’s his freshmen brothers Blake and Blaine Hill.
As he turns the corner down the north ramp, his jog becomes an all-out sprint. Rounding the turn into the homestretch, he takes one final stride to finish off the daily conditioning for wrestling practice.
Almost as soon as he finishes, he turns around just to make sure that he had won. A grin comes across his face.
The Hill brothers have always been competitive. They still are, their aggressiveness has helped them to move up to the varsity level as underclassman.
™Growing up we were competitive, David said. ™We would play basketball, we’d run, or just wrestle in the house.
And they’re all doing just fine this season. All three have solid resumes including recent success in meets. At the Northwest tournament, Blaine went 4-0, finishing first. Blake finished second in the same tournament, going 3-1. David’s last meet was at Piper, and he went 3-1, finishing second.
™I would say they all probably have at least 20 wins, JV coach Jason Filbeck said. ™And none of them have more than 5 losses.
Their chidhood days usually consisted of petty little games, including their personal favorite, wrestling. They had no mats or gear. They had no referee watching their every move, or a coach hollering from the sideline. They had a backyard, a couple of lawn chairs, and each other. That’s all they needed.
™Any kind of game we could make up we played, Blaine said.
Although they didn’t wrestle in a competitive league, they had all the experience they needed from their backyard brawls.
These competitive games also helped this trio of brothers find their forte, sport. They were soon competing for local basketball and football teams, their competitive drive as evident as it was during their backyard scruffs.
When it came time for high school, the oldest brother , David, 16, chose wrestling as his winter sport. But just like so many freshman wrestlers, he did not pick everything up immediately.
™I felt inexperienced on the first day, David said. ™I knew no moves or anything.
But he made up for the initial inexperience with hard work.
™A lot of times he’ll be done a lap before anyone else during conditioning, Filbeck said. ™And he always asks us permission to run another, of course we let him.
His hard work is the first thing you notice when you see him. His determination to keep going also is one of his trademarks. Even through injury he continues to tough it out.
™Right now David has cauliflower ears, Blaine said. ™It’s when your ears get rubbed and swell up.
Most wrestlers would take a break after this injury, but not David, he just went to the doctor, got the problem fixed and moved on. This trait in him is one that has helped him to win awards like, ™JV Wrestler of the Year and ™Hardest Worker for the 2007-08 JV team. This trait is also seen in his two younger brothers.
™Both Blake and Blaine are very hardworking, Ufford said. ™They’re also very strong and athletic.
Blake and Blaine are just two standouts among an impressive freshman class.
This year’s class is one that Ufford said is the most promising freshman class he’s seen in a while.
David has helped to inspire this year’s freshman class.
™When other wrestlers see him win a match, we always say, oh he’s in betters shape, Filbeck said. ™And they say well maybe if we worked that hard we could be winning too.
David’s hard work tends to bring up everyone around him. He has a habit of inspiring his brothers. As a matter of fact, he’s the one that convinced them to wrestle in the first place.
™I was going to do basketball, Blake said. ™But David was wrestling so I wanted to be in the same sport as him.
With this gut decision, Blake and Blaine joined the wrestling team. But just like their older brother, they started off slow.
™The first day was so confusing, Blaine said.
Both Blake and Blaine were inexperienced with the concept of a move and nearly everything else that goes along with it. But they caught on quick.
They began to pick up everything in stride. The moves began to feel more natural and the conditioning began to feel easier. They continuously came to their practices, giving every sprint, weight lift and drill their full effort.
All three of the Hill’s impressive showings did not go unnoticed. They were all moved up to practice with varsity, all as underclassmen, creating a unique situation, three brothers competing with the varsity team. A situation rarely seen in high school wrestling.
™I can only remember a couple instances where we’ve had a situation like this, varsity wrestling coach Chip Ufford said.
Although sometimes the over hyped brother combo can result in a bust. But unlike all brother combinations, the Hill’s consistently show traits of hard work and determination.
™They don’t want to let the other brother beat them, Ufford said. ™They push each other out there.
And this trait is evident on the mat. Each brother is fiercely competitive, especially with each other. But when they’re not wrestling it is easy to see just how good of friends these brothers are.
™We’re with each other basically all the time, Blake said. ™On the weekends we’ll stay home and hang out, or play football.
Instead of spending their time resting from the exhaustion that comes with wrestling, the Hills would rather be playing outside. They would rather be doing anything then sitting inside and gazing at a television screen. They go outside to stay in shape, but they don’t mind messing around once in a while.
™Blaine, um, sometimes rubs boogers on me, Blake said. ™It can get really annoying.
Sometimes the brotherly love is friendly, sometimes it’s honest and harsh, but the Hills are there to help each other improve, whether in school or out on the mat. Actually, the Hills have a tendency to help the entire East wrestling team improve.
And hopefully they will continue to improve an already outstanding East team. Last year East took fourth in state with a Regional and Sunflower championship. And with the addition of three outstanding brothers, things are only looking up.
They are helping out teammates, winning matches, and most of all, working hard.
™David always works so hard and his little brothers have the exact same traits, Filbeck said. ™Must be good parenting I guess.