Brothers wrestle in top form

Jordan and Chandler Rogers are bonded as brothers and by their passion for wrestling. The boys are just two years apart – Jordan is 14 and Chandler is 12 – and have been participating in the sport since they were both 4.

Jordan is a freshman at Mead High School and wrestles year-round. He practices and competes in school and in outside tournaments, then wrestles in camps and tournaments during the summer.

The pair and their family lived in Clarkston up until three years ago, where they wrestled exclusively in club wrestling, competing in local and regional tournaments, then when they turned 8, at the national level.

Jordan and Chandler recently competed in the Asics Kids Freestyle and Greco National Wrestling Championships in Utah. Jordan won the championships and was named to the All-American Team in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, adding to the nine national championships he has already won. He also was named Outstanding Wrestler at the 2005 Tulsa Nationals, named to the Cliff Keen World of Wrestling All-Star Team three times, and was undefeated in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling after being named to the All-Tournament Greco and Freestyle Team at the School National Duals in Indiana.

Jordan has thought about going to college at Oklahoma State, Boise State or the Penn State and has goals to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association title in wrestling. “After I get out of college I want to coach at the college level and maybe even at the Olympic level,” he said

In school, he’s maintained straight-A’s and was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. Outside of wrestling he likes to fish and play football with his friends.

Chandler is a seventh-grader at Northwood Middle School in Mead. This will be his first year wrestling in school. “It’s pretty fun,” he said. He also plays football and wrestles in outside tournaments. “I like wrestling because it gets you ready for football.”

Chandler won a national championship in Greco wrestling, placed third in freestyle and was also named to the All-American team in both Greco and freestyle while he competed in Utah. He also has won two national championships, was a national runner-up four times, and placed third nationally three times. He was named to the Cliff Keen World of Wrestling All-Star Team in 2005.

Both boys are members of the Big Cat Wrestling Club, where they help coach at the practices, held at Mead. “Teaching helps them learn,” said their dad, Bill.

Jordan and Chandler have a 10-year-old sister and are the sons of Bill and Heather Rogers.