Gophers wrestling is a band of brothers

Two brands of brotherhood have helped the Gophers build the nation's top-ranked wrestling program.

Brotherhood in the figurative sense is seen in this close group of teammates who have created a support system and share the same goal: winning a national title.

Brotherhood in the literal sense is more striking. The team has four sets of two brothers — including two pairs of identical twins — on its roster.

Teammates often refer to each other as family. In the case of Gophers wrestling, oftentimes they're being serious.

"It's a more intimate brotherhood or camaraderie when you have brothers, because brothers look up to brothers," Gophers longtime coach J Robinson said. "Brothers have been competing and mimicking each other for their whole life, competing for toys and competing for attention, but they also have the support system because each one wants to see the other do well. There's a natural built-in competitive competition."

Whether it's extra motivation or natural chemistry or just pure talent, it's all working. This brotherhood of Gophers ranks as the No. 1 team in the nation for dual meets with a 6-0 record after Thursday night's 21-19 victory over No. 18 Northwestern at the Sports Pavilion. They also are ranked second nationally in the team tournament rankings, having won the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas earlier this month and seven individual titles at the Bison Open in Fargo in November.

The Gophers also have shown that where there is chemistry, there is also rivalry.

After spending 23 years competing with his eight-minute-older and 8-pound-heavier identical twin, Chris has become a voice of support in the Y.B.C. for wrestlers who are always trying to keep up with an older brother. The two-time All-America is the first to remind the "O.B.C." that the younger set are better looking and better athletes.

"I take pride in the Younger Brothers Club. We usually hand out a questionnaire to the girls and fans in the crowd to find out who's better," Chris joked.

This sort of rivalry is what the Gophers coaching staff prefers. Brothers have been walking into the Gophers wrestling room for decades. The program has eight sets of All-America brothers, dating to the 1970s with Dan and Larry Zilverberg.

Senior Dylan Ness has Y.B.C. membership because he watched his older brother, Jayson, win the most recent NCAA title in the Gophers' longtime brother act in 2010. Dylan, the NCAA runner-up at 157 pounds last year, is ranked No. 1 this year.

The Dardanes brothers are the most recent set of All-Americas. Chris earned All-America honors in 2012 and 2013, and Nick in 2013. The seniors from Chicago are expecting another All-America campaign this season and hoping to return the NCAA trophy to Minnesota.

Nobody is pushing Chris and Nick harder than each other. Nick is ranked No. 4 in the 141-pound weight class, and Chris is No. 2 at 133 pounds. The pair's drive to outdo the other often escalates wrestling practice into a boxing match. Once the punches stop flying, they're best friends again, each said.

"We have a lot of brothers on the team, but we're all considered brothers," Nick Dardanes said. "I think that's why brothers come here, because they sense that brotherhood within our team. It helps a lot to have a brother by your side for accountability with the lifestyle we live. … My whole life we've been competing against each other, so the competition is even greater."

Sophomore Brandon Kingsley (157/165 pounds) is hoping he and older brother, Jordan (125-pound junior), can become a combo as accomplished as the Dardanes. The brothers from Apple Valley are playing backup roles early this season; Brandon does have three pins and two technical falls in his seven victories at 165 pounds.

"Jordan and I are planning to show we're as formidable as any other set of brothers," said Brandon, aka "Kingsley 2" among teammates. "But we all love each other. It's easy for us to separate what happens in the wrestling room from what's outside the wrestling room."

Sophomore Brett Pfarr (184 pounds) and his freshman brother, Chris (197 pounds), were standouts at Le Sueur-Henderson High School, and Brett is 13-3 and ranked No. 11 nationally at 184. He is thankful to have his lifelong training partner by his side, pushing him to get better.

Identical freshmen twins Faris and Tijani Karaborni, state champions from Cupertino, Calif., are the most recent addition to the brotherhood. They are redshirting at 184 and 174 pounds.

The Gophers are hoping these special bonds will help claim the program's first NCAA team national championship since 2007. They've finished second, third and second over the past three seasons, and they also haven't won a Big Ten tournament championship since 2007. The team is led by a senior class that shares its own sort of brotherhood, in that figurative sense, and five wrestlers are ranked in the top four nationally.

"The senior class is a very good group of guys," Brett Pfarr said. "They have had a lot of success, and they've brought us younger guys up and built us up with them. We're already close to begin with, so having all the brothers on the team makes it much more like a family."