Griswold — Although they were blessed with innate wrestling talent, the Christie twins of Griswold High School, Seth and Caleb, have not been so lucky when it comes to staying healthy.

Due to a series of injuries throughout their careers, the co-captain twin tandem will finally get to suit up Saturday at the Eastern Connecticut Conference wrestling championship, the first time they’ve been able to compete together in the same postseason.

In his freshman year, the 2022-23 ECC champion at 106 pounds, Seth Christie, suffered a broken wrist which sidelined him for the entire postseason. Having just found the love for wrestling, this was heartbreaking for Seth, but it was just as heartbreaking for Griswold head coach Dana Cooke.

“He was having a great (freshman) season, bound to be an ECC finalist that year, ranked about one or two,” Cooke stated. “It was a tough pill to swallow but at least we get both Christies this year.”

After watching Caleb and the twins’ older brother, Aiden, take on the ECC that year, Seth became more motivated than ever to get back in shape and make his brothers proud.

Seth said, “It sucked to watch my brothers go out and wrestle while I’m sidelined with a cast, but it was only my freshman year, so I still have plenty of time to make up for it. I didn’t let that affect me, just kept my head down and looked toward the next season.”

What a next season it would be for Seth Christie, earning an individual ECC championship and placing second in the Class S state meet, earning him All-ECC Division III all-star status and a spot on The Day’s All-Area Team. After achieving nearly all the individual awards he could in his sophomore year, Seth still aspires to wrestle at the highest level.

“I want to defend my ECC title and then finally win states. I’m also hoping to wrestle in State Opens this year and hopefully to make it to New Englands,” Seth Christie said. “There’s been a couple of setbacks so far this season so, going forward, my main goals are doing my best and keeping my mind right.”

While Seth was winning ECCs and achieving postseason success last year, however, his brother Caleb was in the same position that Seth was in the year prior.

Caleb suffered a hyperextended finger at the Casey Yates Tournament, cracking the bone in the process. While examining his bone, the doctor pointed out a bump that was later discovered to be an enchondroma (benign tumor), which later required surgery and resulted in Caleb missing the postseason.

“It was heartbreaking watching my brother go on to win all these things; I love the sport too much to be sitting on the sidelines,” Caleb said. “Watching him motivated me to work harder this year though, so I’m excited to compete again in the postseason.”

As a freshman, Caleb finished fourth in the Class S state tournament, but hasn’t had the opportunity to compete for anything since then.

Having two brothers that achieved a high status in the sport, Caleb makes it his goal to approach the mat with a champion’s intensity, as he knows no other way to wrestle.

“My goal is to leave the mat knowing that I did the best I could, not getting in my head or giving up. I do what needs to be done and get off the mat,” Caleb said.

Seth Christie is the No. 1 seed in the 113-pound division for Saturday’s ECC championship at Killingly High School (9:30 a.m.). Caleb is the No. 6 seed at 132 pounds.

Neither of the twins are at the peak of their physical performance, as they are only juniors, but their tough, mature mindset is what sets them apart.

The Christies have had numerous role models throughout their wrestling careers and it has translated to premier performances thus far. One of the more impactful learning experiences for the tandem was their time spent at the highly regarded Killingly Youth Wrestling program.

While many of the youth wrestlers from that program later attend Killingly High School to be a part of the town’s highly ranked sports teams, the Christie twins had other plans. The Christies said they loved their time at Killingly Youth Wrestling and attribute a lot of their skills to the foundation the program provided, but it was their older brother Aiden who sealed the deal for them.

“We were pretty much going wherever he was going to go; we didn’t want to wrestle without him,” Caleb Christie said.

Aiden Christie was another vital role model for the twins. A 2022 graduate of Griswold, Aiden was second in the ECC and third in Class S at 145 pounds as a senior. Aiden had a different technique than his lighter brothers but his competitiveness and will to win inspired Seth and Caleb.

“He pushes us every day to be the best we can. He always had that killer mindset, never let anything distract him,” Seth said. “He would always go out there, beat up his opponent and leave. It inspired us do the same things, so we try to come with the same intensity he brought.”

The Christies are a family-oriented group, constantly trying to help each other get better in practice. Unlike most sibling relationships, the twins aren’t that competitive against each other, but instead work in unison.

Now, they’ll share a postseason together.

“We’ve been there for each other before, but it’s definitely going to be better with us both healthy going into this one,” Caleb Christie said.

z.cunningham@theday.com

ECC Wrestling Championship

When: Saturday, 9:30 a.m.

Where: Killingly High School

Defending champion: Windham

Top seeds: 106 pounds, Brady Jonasch (Killingly); 113, Seth Christie (Griswold/Wheeler); 120, Hunter Sanchez (Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech); 126, Jackson Sorel (NFA); 132, Brady Zadora (Killingly); 138, Dugan Marsh (NFA); 144, James Linder (Montville); 150, Lucas Gannotti (Waterford); 157, Luke Chapman (Montville); 165, Devon Powers (Waterford); 175, Lincoln Carlson (East Lyme/Norwich Tech); 190, Brayden Soleau (East Lyme/Norwich Tech); 215, Malachi Fowler (Windham); 285, Anthony Oates (Killingly)

Analysis: Killingly is 30-0 this season and ranked eighth in the Connecticut Wrestling Online Top 10 poll, making it the team to beat for the ECC title. NFA is unbeaten in ECC Division I, Killingly in Division II and Lyman/Windham Tech in Division III, but those teams need to close things out in the ECC tournament, which figures in the overall division championships. The tournament will be conducted as a one-day day event. The championship quarterfinals are scheduled for 10:30 a.m., the semifinals at 1:15 p.m. and the title matches are set to begin at 5:30 p.m. The championship matches will be livestreamed by GameDay at theday.com. Linder of Montville was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of last year’s tournament.

— Vickie Fulkerson