Intense. Enjoyable. Tough. Exciting. All of these words were used by Ryan, Adam, Tony and Tyler Turner to sum up their thoughts about wrestling together for the University of Wisconsin. Not only have they been able to overcome sibling rivalries, but they have managed to become a potent force for Barry Davis’ wrestling squad.

This year, Adam, Tony and Tyler have combined for more than 40 wins and are a serious reason why the Badgers have their highest win total since the 1985-86 season. The youngest of the four, Tyler Turner, accounts for nearly half of those wins with 21.

The four shared a house last year and would talk about wrestling, friends and other activities. Ryan said the four of them would analyze what they were doing successfully and what they needed to work on. It seems to be paying off, as 149-pounder Tony Turner is wrestling two weight classes up while maintaining a .500 record.

On top of that, freshman Tyler Turner has seen the most success of the three this year, earning a No. 19 ranking and racking up 21 wins.

“Tyler is the last of us, and he’s the best,” Ryan Turner said. “Growing up we kind of beat up on him, and it always seems that the youngest will be the best. I don’t know why that is, but he just learns from what I did wrong and what Adam did wrong, and he just builds upon that.”

Tyler agreed with Ryan, saying the addition of brothers in the wrestling room does something to raise the level of your game.

“You can learn from them, from what they did, and not making the same mistakes,” Tyler said. “Having a brother pushes you so much harder. You want to work harder than them, which pushes you to the next level and makes both of you better.”

As one might be able to tell, wrestling is a family affair for the Turners, one that extends to their father, who was also their wrestling coach. The brothers did not wrestle with their father too often, until last summer when he was training for the Badger State Games. That was when their dad got a taste of Wisconsin wrestling.

“In high school, I didn’t wrestle with my dad a whole lot,” Adam said. “Last summer he was training for the Badger State Games and got second. It was the first time I ever saw him wrestle and he made this comment when he was drilling with Ryan and I jumped in that we were pretty strong because we’d move him all over the place where we’d want to.”

The catalyst for the Turners coming to Wisconsin was the oldest brother Ryan. At Spring Valley, Ryan was a standout wrestler attracting the interest of Davis. It was always his wish to wrestle for a bigger school, and he found an inviting atmosphere at UW.

“I got it started,” Ryan said. “Once you work hard for them you’re in, and they’ll see if another one is around. Barry is big on getting brothers. You’ve got the Flahertys and the Masseys coming. You’ve got that unity.”

And come they did. Three waves of them with each one better and better. Once Ryan made up his mind, it was just a matter of time before the others would come.

“When Ryan came here he was always talking about how good it was and how nice everyone is,” Tony said. “We would come down to visit and meet all the coaches and wrestlers and stay in contact throughout high school.”

Not only did the younger Turners have the opportunity to wrestle with their family, there was also the allure of wrestling in the best conference in the country.

“I always wanted to wrestle for Wisconsin, but during high school I knew I wanted to wrestle for a Division I, Big Ten school, because the best wrestling is in the Big Ten conference,” Tyler said.

The same was true for Adam.

“When I was a freshman in high school I made the decision that I wanted to go to a Division I school to wrestle,” Adam said. “I didn’t know which one, and when Ryan came here it became the only choice in my mind. Ryan was here. We’re all pretty close, but this was the only place I applied.”

Barry Davis said part of the reason why each brother seems to be getting better is that having family around in a time of transition helps make things easier and allows a wrestler to focus more on what needs to be done to be successful.

“They’re with you,” Davis said. “Making the adjustment to college is tough. You are away from home, you are going to a hard level of competition. It’s more of an adjustment, and if you have someone to do it with it’s nice to have that. You don’t get as homesick, and especially your freshman year it’s a new level and it’s more demanding.”

If adjusting to the responsibilities of college life were not difficult enough, the four now found themselves on a campus with 35 times as many people as their hometown.

When all four achieved their goal of wrestling for a Big Ten school, it was time to shoot higher. Each has or had aspirations to be Big Ten champions, All-Americans and national champions.

“As a wrestler I definitely want to be national champion, and that is possible with the team I have here pushing me,” Tyler said. “This year I’d like to be All-American and then move on from that.”

For the most part, Tony does not see much action with Tyler and Adam. A 133-pounder by trade, Tony has been forced to wrestle up two weights after Cole Wunnicke was lost for the season. Giving up 16 pounds might not seem terribly difficult, but at the Big Ten level that translates into 16 pounds of muscle. Still, maintaining a .500 record while wrestling up that far is quite an accomplishment.

As for Adam and Tyler, the two wrestle at similar weight classes. Adam occupied the 165-pound slot with Kelly Flaherty until suffering a back injury. He is unsure whether he will return, but he remains optimistic. When the two were still in the lineup, it was hard to separate them in practice.

“Tyler is one weight class below me, so we wrestle probably three or four times a week,” Adam said. “He is my main practice partner. Barry had to actually separate us for two weeks because we were with each other so often. I don’t wrestle with Tony too much.”

When the Turners are not vying for a Big Ten title or national championship, they find themselves in the outdoors, at concerts, or competing in triathlons.

“I do a lot of road biking, hiking, and outdoor stuff,” Adam said. “Tyler and I did a sprint triathlon out at Devil’s Lake. Mainly a lot of outdoor stuff and concerts.”

Ryan was the first of the four to finish, but still returns for each dual meet to show his support.

“I like just coming back and giving as much support as I can,” Ryan said. “They are so fun to watch. I get so nervous it’s ridiculous.”

For now, the Turners and Flahertys are the only sibling combinations on the team. Next year the Badgers will see the addition of Jordan and Josh Crass and Kyle Massey who will join brother Jared Massey on the team. With Adam being lost to graduation, that will make four sets of brothers for Barry Davis’ Badgers.

All of the brothers hope to remain in Wisconsin after they graduate. Ryan has found a job in Madison and, like Adam, will try to stay involved in wrestling in some capacity.

“I definitely want to coach and give something back to the sport,” Adam said. “It’s taught me a lot and I really enjoy wrestling so I want to stay involved even if it means volunteering at a high school. It’s worth it.”