For a pair of boys who lived so close to an amusement park in Altoona, Iowa, the Miklus brothers had a lot of excess energy.
When they were five and six years old, their father devised a unique and, as it turned out, productive way for the boys to spend some of it: He laid out a mat on the living room floor and had the boys duke it out.
There weren’t any punches or kicks thrown, though. The brothers were wrestling, like their father did in high school.
He asked his young sons if they would like to be wrestlers some day.
They responded with a resounding yes.
Fast-forward fifteen years. Older brother Willie is the No. 9 ranked wrestler in the 184-pound weight class as a redshirt freshman, while younger brother Tim is honing his skills during his redshirt season.
All of their success is the product of practicing together for years.
In high school, the boys wanted to wrestle all year round as opposed to just during the season, so their father designated a room explicitly for wrestling in the basement of their house.
Tim said the room wasn’t very big, so they couldn’t work on everything, but it was still useful for practicing fundamentals.
The two brothers were wrestling and workout partners throughout middle and high school, helping each other improve in any way they could.
“It was always kind of nice having someone under the same roof who was going through everything you were,” Willie said. “We were able (to) push each other through the hard times.”
All the hard work they did as youngsters at home paid off in high school competition at Southeast Polk High School.
Willie won Iowa state titles in his junior and senior seasons at 171 and 220 pounds, respectively. He had a perfect senior season, going 47-0 with a total of 368 takedowns.
Tim had a perfect season of his own during his senior year, winning a state title at 160 pounds.
The success has continued for Willie at Mizzou. He’s 25-4 in duals this season and will be wrestling in the NCAA Nationals Championships in March. He said he feels good about his prospects.
“I don’t expect to get beat from here on out,” Willie said. “I expect to win every match.”
He said confidence is a crucial component of success in wrestling.
“If you don’t believe in what you can do and you step out on the mat against someone who does, it makes a world of difference,” Willie said.
Tim had been considering a couple other schools, so deciding on Mizzou wasn’t a sure thing. Willie said that when he heard that his younger brother was coming here, he was ecstatic.
“I wanted him to come to Mizzou, but I also wanted him to go wherever he felt happiest,” Miklus said. “I’m thrilled to have him here with me. It’s pretty special to have somebody wrestle with you from day one through all of college.”
As a redshirt, Tim’s role on the team is somewhat confined.
He said his primary job is to wrestle with starters in practice and try to prepare them for their duals.
Tim thinks he can be a helpful practice opponent for Willie because he “knows how he works.”
Thanks to his help in practice or not, Tim thinks very highly of what his brother has been able to do this year.
“(Willie’s) doing really well so far,” he said. “He just has to keep it up and he’ll be an All-American and a national champ.”
Even with all of the success Willie is having, and the promise Tim shows, the Miklus brothers will always see each other as just that –– brothers.
“He’s been there with me through thick and thin,” Willie said. “He’s my best friend, he knows me better than anyone. It’s hard to put into words how much he means to me and how much I like having him around.”