They entered the world one minute apart 17 years ago – and have been that close ever since.
Connor Burkert came first, then Ryan a minute later. And unlike many fraternal twins, the Burkert boys do everything together.
“We share the same interests,” said Connor Burkert, a senior and a key member of the St. Peter’s Prep wrestling team. “We are not identical, but we share the same interests. We like all the same things, the same foods, clothes, music.”
“We share a room at home,” said Ryan Burkert. “We watch the same stuff on television. We basically like the same things. We have different personalities and different attitudes. But we’re pretty much the same in everything.”
Except on the wrestling mat, where Connor wrestles in the 138-pound class and Ryan is a demon at 145 pounds.
Both Burkert brothers won medals at the NJSIAA state tournament last year, with Ryan finishing as a runner-up and Connor taking fourth.
They are both headed back to the state championships in Atlantic City this weekend, after Ryan won his third straight Region 4 championship by defeating Darwin Pena of Nutley, 10-0, in the 145-pound finals and Connor finished third after suffering a tough loss in the semifinals to Michael O’Malley of Hasbrouck Heights and came back to defeat Garrett Beam of Queen of Peace, 11-2, in the finals of the consolation wrestle-back round.
Ryan improved to 34-3 on the season, while Connor is now 31-7.
Earlier in the season, while competing in a tournament in Minnesota, the Burkert twins both reached the career 100-win milestone on the very same day.
For their efforts, the Burkert twins have been selected as The Hudson Reporter Co-Athletes of the Week for the past week.
St. Peter’s Prep head wrestling coach Anthony Verdi likes having the Burkert brothers there side by side.
“I think it’s a very special thing,” Verdi said. “Not only are they brothers, but they’re twins who celebrated success on the same day, winning their 100th match.”
The pair becomes the 10th and 11th Prep wrestlers to ever capture 100 wins in a career. Ryan Burkert heads to Atlantic City with 127 career wins. Connor Burkert has 121 career wins.
“Not only do they have an equal amount of success, but they attain it was the same rate,” Verdi said. “It’s pretty amazing.”
Verdi said that he knew both brothers were highly competitive from the first day of practice.
“The first day they were here, they were going at it with each other,” Verdi said. “They definitely push each other. They are two extremely intense competitors.”
“He’s been a great workout partner,” Ryan Burkert said. “He always stays positive and always pushes me, helps me excel.”
“It’s like having a permanent drill partner,” Connor Burkert said. “When we’re in the [wrestling] room, we go at it 110 percent. That’s the only way we’re both going to get better. We scrap and go hard.”
But away from the mat, the two are always together, even on the practice mat in their family home in Cranford.
“We’re pretty much inseparable,” Connor Burkert said. “We do everything together.”
“He’s my best friend all the way,” Ryan Burkert said. “It’s a feeling that’s pretty special, that I get to share all of this with my brother. He always has my back.”
Verdi said that he’s never seen anything like it.
“I’ve had brothers on the team before, but I’ve never had two brothers as close as they are,” Verdi said. “They’re not shy about getting in each other’s face when it’s needed, but they are very tight and come from a very close-knit family.”
The Burkerts were introduced to wrestling at a very early age.
“I think Ryan and I were like five years old,” Connor Burkert said. “My dad [Ken] wrestled during his day at Hillside [High School]. He took both of us at the same time. I was one who always liked to try something new, but right away, we put a lot of work into it.”
“I had two left feet when I started,” Ryan Burkert said. “We still joke about it today. But I fell in love with the sport as I think my brother did. As I got older, I really grew to appreciate the sport more. It was awesome to have my brother there with me all the time.”
Although Ryan has enjoyed more success this season in winning the Region 4 gold medal as well as 34 victories, he’s always concerned with how Connor is doing.
“It makes me happy to see him do well,” Ryan Burkert said. “I think that makes me a better wrestler.”
“Sometimes I worry about him more than I do myself,” Connor Burkert said. “I get more nervous when he wrestles.”
Verdi said that the two differentiate on the mat.
“I think their styles of wrestling have separated themselves the last two years or so,” Verdi said. “Connor is more of a leg attack wrestler, where Ryan has developed an upper body approach. Ryan is a little better on top. There are subtle differences.”
“I’m a little better defensive wrestler, while he’s better offensively,” Ryan Burkert said.
The two will continue their closeness into college as both have accepted wrestling scholarships to Hofstra University, where they will compete in the fall.
“It was a package deal,” Verdi said. “If you wanted one, you had to take the other. Hofstra wanted both.”
“It’s definitely cool when you do something and you get to share it with your twin brother,” Connor Burkert said. “He’s always by my side. It’s almost like we do it together. But it’s something special and something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.”
“We’re going to the same college together, so that shows how close we are,” Ryan Burkert said. “I think we’re absolutely prepared to take it to the next level, the [NCAA] Division I level. I think Prep wrestling teaches you a lot about life as well as wrestling, things that you’re never going to forget.”
The Burkerts are excited to get another crack at Atlantic City.
“There was definitely a little disappointment last year,” Connor Burkert said. “Ryan lost in the finals and I lost in the semifinals. So the whole weekend was a little bittersweet. But we’re going this year to win. We know how talented we are. We want to win.”
“We have the same goal,” Ryan Burkert said. “We fell a little short last year. I was devastated after I lost. But I can’t compare last year to this year, because this year, I feel like I’m going to come out on top. It’s our year.”
Connor Burkert said that he and his brother have been training three to four days a week at a private wrestling facility, as well as the Prep wrestling room.
“After our regular practices, we have to go the extra mile to achieve greatness,” Connor Burkert said. “We’re focused on the one goal and that’s winning a state championship. That’s what we’re both striving for.”
“I always felt that we were solid if we started the match with a Burkert or ended with one,” Verdi said. “We were always in good shape. I was confident in them. They’ve had consistency for four years. They are really good kids.”
Good kids who happen to be twin brothers who have good chances to leave Atlantic City with a medal once again this weekend. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.