What began as roughhousing on the living room floor of their house in O’Fallon, Missouri, turned into two successful Missouri wrestling careers for brothers Trevor and Brandon Wiest.

The Wiest brothers were pitted against each other Saturday, Nov. 1 at the Hearnes Center during the second annual Black & Gold Alumni Match.

The event was nothing out of the ordinary for Trevor and Brandon, who had wrestled each other countless times before. The only difference Saturday was that their mother wasn’t the one observing holds.

“That was probably the 900th match that we’ve wrestled in our lives,” Brandon said. “We wrestle all the time, him and me. In the living room, all the time.”

Trevor and Brandon began wrestling formally when their dad – a high school wrestler himself – enrolled them in a local Little League program in O’Fallon. Brandon was nine and Trevor was six.

When the time came around, Brandon decided to wrestle for his Fort Zumwalt West High School team. Trevor followed suit three years later. They were on the same high school team in 2007 and would reunite as Tigers in 2011.

“We’ve always been on the same teams, competing with each other all the time, it’s been really fun,” Trevor said.

Having their sibling rivalry play out on wrestling mats was not only fun for the Wiest brothers, it provided crucial motivation for them.

“It definitely helped — the living room matches, just getting tough and being mean to each other,” said Brandon. “We were just rolling around and having a good time.”

Deciding to come to Missouri to wrestle was not a difficult decision for either of the brothers. They’re homegrown in every sense of the word, and they felt like there was no better place for them.

“It’s Missouri. We’re from Missouri, we like being in Missouri,” Brandon said. “There’s a lot of great wrestling tradition here. We had to follow up and try to do our part.”

Trevor’s first collegiate match win was by decision, 7–2. Last year, he picked up seven wins through three tournaments.

Trevor is wrestling this year at 149 pounds. He’s hoping be break into the starting lineup this year for the Tigers.

Brandon graduated from MU in 2011. He also wrestled in his senior year at 149 pounds. The highlight of his last season at Mizzou was a first place finish at the University of Central Missouri Open.

The elder Wiest doesn’t wrestle competitively anymore, but he is staying involved in the sport through instruction. He currently coaches at a wrestling academy in Springfield.

Brandon felt lucky to walk away with a 6-1 victory over his younger brother Saturday.

“I’m glad it was only three minutes, because he probably would have gotten me if it was any longer,” Brandon said.

Brandon is sure his brother will have an opportunity to avenge his loss.

“It’s always fun wrestling your brother. I’m sure that’s not the last time we’ll go at it,” Brandon said.