Soria Twins


	EDITORIAL

SORIA TWINS ACHIEVE A FIRST IN STATES

February 28, 2009

ALBANY - They were born two minutes apart on September 13, 1991. Friday the 13th, to be exact. They were two tiny boys, identical twins, weighing 1 pound, 9 ounces each. And they were miracle babies, surviving a birth that was three months premature.

Max and Mike Soria spent the first three months of their lives in the neonatal unit at Stony Brook. "I guess we weren't given much of a chance to live," Max said. "But here we are in the state wrestling championships."

The twin 96-pounders from Kings Park etched themselves in New York wrestling lore in Friday's state wrestling championships at the Times-Union Center, becoming the first brothers to be in the position of facing each other in the state tournament. But it never happened, as they chose not to do battle.

When top-seeded Mike Soria beat St. Anthony's Chris Brienza, 6-3, and unseeded Max Soria pounded Asher Kramer of Suffern (I), 12-0, to reach the quarterfinals, their next opponents would have been each other. But Max defaulted to Mike.

"They were supposed to wrestle three times during the season in tournaments, including the League IV tournament, and Mike forfeited to Max," Kings Park coach Jack Magnani said. "It's a family decision to keep things civil."

This time Max was knocked into the wrestleback round while Mike moved into Saturday morning's semifinal round against Sam Speno of Fox Lane (IX).

The twins qualified for the state tournament two weeks ago in the Suffolk championships. Mike came from an unseeded position to win Suffolk's 96-pound title and Max earned a spot as a wild-card entry.

"They're both excellent wrestlers and very capable of winning the state crown," Magnani said. "We were just disappointed that the state committee couldn't find a way to split them in the 96-pound bracket so they didn't have to wrestle each other unless they met for the title."

There is no provision in the state seeding criteria to move identical twins, or even brothers. It's never happened before. But even if both had reached the final, they might not have faced each other. It would have been a match-time decision.

Actually, they still could run into each other again. Said Mike, "If I blow it and lose in the semis and meet him in the wrestlebacks, I'd just give it to him."

Mike added, "When the brackets were announced, we were not happy. We don't wrestle each other as a rule. We work out and compete in practice every day. But we will not wrestle in a match. It would end up in a fight."

The two are so intense that when they did wrestle each other years ago, after the bout, they wouldn't talk for weeks.

Max said of his decision, "I have to get over it and try to come back and wrestle back for third place. He won the county, so this was the right thing to do."

Said Mike, "I'm wrestling for two people now. I'm wrestling for both of us."

With Mike looking on, Max earned a 13-1 win over second-seeded Shane Connolly of Warwick Valley (IX) in the first consolation round.

As the 5-2 Kingsmen stood their ground and defended their decision not to wrestle each other, no matter what the stakes, they joked about Max being born two minutes earlier than Mike.

"Max said he wrestled his way out first," Magnani said. "And Mike said he kicked him out first."

BY GREGG SARRA - NEWSDAY