South High’s wrestling brothers are always competing

Whether they're fishing, riding their dirt bikes or hitting the wrestling mats, South High brothers Aedyn and Adam Concepcion are always competing against each other.

Two middle brothers in a family of five kids, Aedyn, a sophomore, and Adam, a freshman, have been wrestling since their dad introduced them to the sport when Aedyn was 6 and Adam was 5. They've been practicing with each other nearly every day since.

The brothers are small in stature — Aedyn wrestles in the 106-pound class and Adam wrestles at 98 pounds — but they've put together some of Alaska's biggest results this season. Both are Cook Inlet Conference champions, and they are a combined 89-1 this season heading into this week's state tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Aedyn won a state title at 98 pounds last season as a freshman. Both he and Adam are ranked No. 1 in the state in their respective classes.

"Both of those guys are very dedicated to the sport," South coach Darin Pestrikoff said. "You ask them to do something and not only are they going to do it, they're going to go a little bit further than your normal expectations. They're very motivated."

Off the mat, everything is a contest for the hyper-competitive brothers. Pestrikoff said that on a fishing trip with the Concepcion clan last summer, there was a constant competition to see who could catch the biggest rockfish.

The jury is still out on who won — both bros claimed victory — but whenever their various competitions are over, they go right back to joking around with each other, Pestrikoff said.

"What I like about it is they compete hard against each other, but then they're still brothers and they're still happy with each other no matter which one ends up walking away the winner," he said.

On the mat, their strengths are their timing and their speed. They try to accumulate points with takedowns while keying on an opponent's tendencies.

"We're both mostly shooters," Aedyn said. "Mostly just let them up and then take them down."

"We're just quick," Adam added.

The only blemish on the brothers' records this season is Adam's loss to Anchorage Christian's Caleb O'Hara last month in the 98-pound championship at the Lancer Smith Memorial tournament in Wasilla. Adam got thrown in the final 10 seconds.

It was the only time he was taken down all season, and the match is still on his mind.

"I was stalling," Adam said. "I just needed to work on my base and getting more points."

The Concepcions are two of 26 South wrestlers who qualified for this week's state championships. The Wolverines won their sixth straight CIC title Saturday.

At state last year, Colony won the team title and South finished fourth.

"Last year we were a pretty young team and now that we've got more experience under our belts I think we're gonna be good," Aedyn said. "(Colony) has a lot of good guys, but we have pretty much the same caliber of guys in the same weight classes as them."

[South wins 6th straight CIC wrestling title]

Adam wants to follow in his brother's footsteps and win a state title as a freshman. Aedyn's goal is another title, although he said there is more pressure going into the meet as a defending champion.

Aedyn said his best memory from last year's state tourney was looking into the stands at the Alaska Airlines Center and seeing his big family taking up a whole section and cheering him on.

When the Concepcions wrestle, it's an excuse for a big family get-together. Their parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins often are in attendance, and they're expected to be there again when the brothers hit the mats Friday morning.

"It is always a fun time when the Concepcion clan shows up," Pestrikoff said. "They really do travel in a pack.

"They're a very family-oriented group. It brings the energy up in the gym when they show up."