BY WADE STEINLAGE, WILLIAM PENN SID

It is quite a feat when one member of your family becomes an All-American, but for the Haynes family, they might have double the fun at the NAIA National Wrestling Championships.

Shamar and Edgar Haynes, brothers who are originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, have not competed on the same team since their days at Cedar Rapids Washington High School, but have been reunited for their senior year of college at William Penn.

Edgar, has attended a few schools since Washington HS but most recently enrolled at Missouri Baptist, while Shamar, who was a national qualifier a year ago at Penn, attended Ellsworth CC for two years.

The brothers are thrilled to have one more chance to compete as teammates and help each other reach their goals.

"It has been a lot of fun to have Edgar here at Penn," Shamar said. "When we were younger we wanted to go to the same college, but it just didn't work out."

Despite wrestling at different weight classes (Shamar has wrestled at 125 and 133 pounds this season, while Edgar has maintained at 141 pounds all campaign), the two have occasionally had some bouts during practice. Unfortunately, they will not agree on who has had the upper hand in those competitions.

"I've actually beaten him a couple times," Shamar said. "He won't admit it, but Coach will back up my story."

Edgar disagrees with Shamar's recollection of past events.

"We've never actually had a real match," Edgar said. "He avoids me quite a bit. He may have taken me down once or twice, but he's never beaten me. Plus, he's a lot smaller than me, so I take it easy on him."

Both have had their moments in the sun during the 2007-2008 season, including qualifying for nationals (Shamar will wrestle at 125 pounds and Edgar at 141 pounds). Each individual has also spent time in the national rankings, headlined by both being ranked as high as sixth at their respective weights. So there is, without a doubt, a strong possibility they both could be standing on the podium as All-Americans next month in Sioux City.

"That would be really cool if we could both be All-Americans," Shamar said. "It would be a great thing to brag about. I've already done it at Ellsworth, so I can hold that over Edgar, but if we could both do it, especially in the same year, that would be really special."

"It would be awesome to be an All-American with my brother because we would continue the history of family success in wrestling," Edgar said. "It would be cool to tell our kids that their dad and uncle were both All-Americans."