Carin Stresemann had moved to a 5.3-acre farm outside Princeton with sons Zach, Tyler and Noah Wells when they were ages 6, 4 and 2, respectively. They were rambunctious lads, particularly Tyler, the hyperactive kid in the middle.
“I put them in every sport imaginable, just to wear off some of that energy,” Stresemann said. “A couple of years after we were there, I saw a notice in the paper that for $35 a week, you could put them in wrestling two nights a week, for two or three hours.
“Five, six hours a week of relaxing time for me for $35 … that sounded like a bargain."
Mom laughed at that memory and said: “Other sports interested them, but wrestling, Zach and Tyler just took to it. Noah — he was crazier for football from the time he was a little kid.”
The little farm near Princeton did something else for the Wells brothers: Gave them a sizable appreciation for being outdoors.
“I’m really glad those first few years here, the world wasn’t looking at phones, the internet and videos,” Stresemann said this week. “Your life wasn’t on your phone like it is now.
“They learned to love the outdoors, loved fishing. Zach … he’s a true outdoorsman. He’s probably ice fishing right now."
Tyler had the smallest frame of the three boys but became a phenom on the wrestling mat. His father, Erik Wells, drove him to many camps and weekend events. He participated in the Regional Training Center at the University of Minnesota.