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Mountain View twin wrestlers make history

LOVELAND -- At Mountain View High School in Loveland, wrestling is a family affair. Sophomore Braden Barker is competing in the 2016 state championship tournament at Pepsi Center this weekend, and will attempt to fill his father's enormous wrestling shoes.

LOVELAND -- At Mountain View High School in Loveland, wrestling is a family affair.

Sophomore Braden Barker is competing in the 2016 state championship tournament at Pepsi Center this weekend, and will attempt to fill his father's enormous wrestling shoes.

"I've head a lot of stories about my dad's career," he said.

But Braden is just being modest. His father, and current Mountain View High School wrestling coach Scott Barker, was a two-time Colorado state wrestling champion, winning in 1983 at 132 pounds, and 1984 at 155 pounds. He was also an all-American in both high school and college (Colorado Mesa University).

Scott's older brother, Rick Barker, is also a two-time Colorado state wrestling champion, having won in 1976 at 145 pounds, and 1977 at 155 pounds.

You could say it makes sense that Braden is now wrestling, but you still wouldn't know the whole story. Braden's sister, TWIN sister, that is, is also a wrestler, and she, too, qualified for the 2016 state wrestling tournament, making her the seventh female ever to make it to the state tourney.

"[People] look at me and see a big dude, and they look at her [at] five-foot," Braden said of his sister, Kaley.

The twins say most strangers don't believe they're even related, let-alone twins, but together, they are making state history as the first boy-girl twins to qualify for the state tournament in the same year. Kaley will be competing at 106 pounds, while her brother is at 170.

"It's nice having him there, just knowing he's behind me and got my back," Kaley said of her brother.

The twins began wrestling at the age of 4, and have been successful in other sports as well, at their father's encouragement.

"I told them all this is my thing, it doesn't have to be theirs," he said.

But the twins are competitive and each will keep that competitive fire burning this weekend.

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