Aubrey Rogers High School opened for the first time last year. One of the first sports the Patriots implemented was wrestling. They hired Cory Kness to start the program from the ground up. In just their first year, the Pats won two district championships and had multiple wrestlers compete at regionals and states.
“About 60% on the team didn’t even own a pair of wrestling shoes when we first started," Kness said. “For us to perform that well was not just encouraging, but it was paramount for what we’re trying to accomplish over here.”
Now in Year 2, Aubrey Rogers is looking to defend its titles. To do that, the Patriots will rely heavily on the Zherkas.
Max, Lukah, Damien and Bekim Zherka are all brothers — quadruplets, in fact — who share the same love of wrestling.
“They all have the same last name, but they’re all individual characters," Kness said. "These guys have passion and are driven like most wrestlers will never be.”
That passion began at a young age. Like most brothers, the Zherkas were always roughhousing growing up.
“We would always go in our basement, throw on some gloves and just fight," Damien said.
Those basement brawls have led the quadruplets to be some of the best wrestlers in the entire state as just sophomores. Kness says they have shown signs of being stellar future collegiate wrestlers who could even compete for Team USA one day.
Damien and Bekim have aspirations to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship when they are older.
“Because they have the ability, the potential and the work ethic, they’ll be hitting at that national level this summer," Kness said.
Going on almost two decades of organized and household wrestling, the Zherkas have picked up on each other's moves. Bekim says they all way each other compete and try to coach their brothers if they see something someone else misses.
The Zherkas' work ethic is even rubbing off on the Patriots team.
“Our kids come in and know nothing but what these Zherka boys do," Kness said. "That’s hard-nosed [wrestling and] get after it every day in the room.”
All four of the brothers have the same goal — to win a state championship.