Brother-Sister Wrestlers Prepare To Make History At State Tournament
CONIFER, Colo. (CBS4)- A brother and sister from Conifer hope to make Colorado history in Denver this weekend.
Zander and Cayden Condit are competing in the CHSAA 2018 state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi Center. They could become the first brother-sister duo to place in the event in Colorado sports history.
"It's just like any other tournament," Zander, a Conifer High School sophomore wrestling at 132 pounds, said.
Keeping his cool after his first match Thursday, Zander said he's excited to have his younger sister at the tournament, too.
"I get that extra support with her being here," he told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann.
Cayden, a freshman wrestling at 106 pounds, started wrestling after watching her older brother growing up.
"I would always go to his practices and was like, 'Well, if I'm here I might as well actually be doing it, too,'" she said.
On top of the possibility of becoming the first brother-sister wrestlers to place at the state wrestling event, Cayden could also make history as the first female to place at the tournament.
"A lot of boys do dominate this sport, but, I mean, we can do it, too," Cayden said. "We can do the same as what guys can do, if not better."
The Condit siblings are dedicated to the sport – they've both wrestled since they were young kids. Zander and Cayden even wrestle each other from time to time.
"She'll get me from time to time," Zander said smiling. "I mean, I get her most of the time, but it's nice to see her improving."
Wrestling is more than just a passion for Zander and Cayden -- it pretty much runs in their blood.
"My dad wrestled when he was a kid," Zander explained.
As did a lot of other relatives.
"My dad was a coach, referee, wrestler," Dustin Condit, Zander and Cayden's father, said. "My father-in-law wrestled, all my uncles were wrestlers. It's what we do and at my house you wrestle or you pay rent."
Dustin – who also coaches wrestling – is without a doubt proud of his kids making it to the state championship tournament.
"I got a little misty-eyed. I spend a lot of time in the wrestling room with the three of them. They have a younger sister who wrestles, too," Dustin said, adding his youngest daughter Timmery, 7, also loves the sport. "They put a lot of hard work in, travel all over the country and some international stuff as well, so it's nice to see their hard work pay off."
Their hard work will continue this weekend as Zander and Cayden try to make it to the finals on Saturday.
Cayden lost her first match, but isn't out of the running yet. She still has a chance at placing third. Zander beat his first opponent and could place first in weight bracket.
Both are confident they'll place, and continue their journey side by side in the wrestling tournament.
"I know I'm going to be up there and I know, as long as we everything right, we'll be up there together," Zander said.
Kelly Werthmann joined the CBS4 team as the morning reporter in 2012. After serving as weekend morning anchor, Kelly is now Covering Colorado First for CBS4 News at 10. Connect with Kelly on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @KellyCBS4.
