From the moment Kelly and Ryan Flaherty were born, the two have been inseparable. Practice partners in high school and now roommates in college, the two have brought their unbreakable relationship and strong values to help lead a young Wisconsin wrestling team.

“Me and Ryan are best friends,” said Kelly, the younger by 18 minutes. Brother Ryan agrees, saying their relationship off the mat couldn’t be any closer.

“Somebody would ask me where I would go to school,” said Kelly. “Well, Wisconsin, obviously. And then they’d ask [Ryan] where he goes, and I would look at him like, ‘What a dumb question.’ It would never enter our mind that we would go somewhere different.”

Now in their third year at the University of Wisconsin, this packaged deal is proving to be a powerful force for Barry Davis’ squad.

Ryan has fought his way to a 14-3 start at 184 pounds, while brother Kelly has a 7-3 record at 165 pounds. While the two may be close off the mat, it’s all business on the mat.

“As far as practice goes, we are still close, but we’re still super competitive,” Ryan said. “When we practice, it’s hard, and we get tired. If there is anyone I don’t want to give up a point to, it’s him.”

Both brothers went undefeated their senior years in high school while taking home Minnesota state titles. Each agrees that the fact they had each other on the team has elevated them to where they are today.

“One of the best things about having a brother on the wrestling team is you always have a good practice partner,” Kelly said. “We were always so competitive against each other. If one of us wanted to go run, and the other one didn’t want to, and then you find out your brother ran that day, you’ve got to go back out and run. So, you’re like, let’s just go for a nice easy jog, and pretty soon somebody would pass the other, and the other one would have to pass, and then you’re at a full sprint.”

It was a competitive drive like this that had national powerhouse Minnesota on the recruiting prowl. In the world of wrestling, being recruited by Minnesota is like being recruited by Duke or Kansas in basketball. The Flaherty’s were headed to Minnesota, and why not? They grew up in the small town of Big Lake, Minn., which is 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

They had attended the famed J. Robinson wrestling camps at the University of Minnesota. They had a great relationship with head assistant coach Marty Morgan. Even their older brother Casey enrolled at the university so he could be with them. It was so much of a lock that wrestling publications reported they had agreed to go to Minnesota.

“We were just set on going to Minnesota,” Ryan said. “That is where we were going our whole life.”

Barry Davis had other ideas.

The head wrestling coach saw something in the Flaherty brothers he couldn’t resist.

“Barry just kept bugging us,” Ryan said. So, the two decided it wouldn’t hurt to visit the campus. When they did, they found the coaches, wrestlers and campus irresistible.

“The staff here is unbelievable,” Ryan said. “They’re just great men and great coaches. You couldn’t ask for better people to be coaches. Much of the team here has a strong faith in God, which was a big thing for us.”

While Kelly and Ryan had seemingly found paradise in 68.7 square miles surrounded by reality, brother Casey found himself alone at the University of Minnesota.

“He went there thinking we would follow him, and then we ended up coming to Wisconsin,” Kelly said. “His feelings were kind of hurt, but we would have been wrestling him off for a spot.”

Recent times have found a number of brother combinations wrestling for Davis’ squad. In addition to the Flahertys, there are three Turner brothers on the team, and Medford’s Jordan and Josh Crass, also twins, have committed to attending Wisconsin next fall.

The Flahertys still believe their relationship is different from others on the team.

“Being twins and the exact same age is different,” Kelly said. “Me and Ryan have always had the same friends and always hung out together. With Ryan, we planned on living right next to each other and staying with each other for the rest of our lives.”