Robbie Bozin and Travis Lamborn are popular students at Eagle Valley Middle School, active eighth graders who are honors students inside the classroom and standouts outside as well.
Despite their differences in size -- Bozin weighs 100 pounds, Lamborn closer to 140 -- they are good athletes who like to play football. Bozin, also known for his sense of humor, likes to play baseball and tennis among his other activities. Lamborn enjoys helping out his father, Dale Lamborn, who drives in the Super Modified class at Champion Speedway in Carson City.
Both recently celebrated their 14th birthdays -- Bozin on Sunday, Lamborn on March 5.
Oh, and they share a passion for wrestling. A passion that takes them on the road to compete all over Northern Nevada and California, and next month will take them to Virginia for the National Middle School Championships.
So, what did Bozin do to celebrate his 14th birthday on Sunday? He went out and wrestled for the Carson Bulldogs youth club, of course.
"I'm very excited. I've never been to a tournament like that before," Bozin said Sunday after he defeated two opponents to win his age group 100-pound weight class during the Sierra Wrestling Association Zone QuaIifier held at Carson Middle School.
Lamborn, who started out wrestling for the Carson Bulldogs but now competes as an independent, moved up to the Cadet age division (15 and 16 year olds) 140-pound weight class to find stronger competition. He found it and passed the test with flying colors when he won a gold medal, highlighted by victories over Galena High School's Spencer Christian, who placed third as a 130-pounder at the Nevada 4A State Tournament last month.
Competing against high school opponents is nothing new for Lamborn, who has practiced with the Carson High School team since he was in elementary school. He was still in elementary school when he began following his older brother, Brandon, to practice on occasion. This past winter, the visits to Carson High became routine.
"I try to go to all the practices. Getting to practice every day against guys like Paul Carter, Chris White and Chandler Brown really helped me out a lot." Lamborn said.
"It seems like we've had Travis on our radar for years," said Dave Lowe, who coaches at Eagle Valley and is an assistant at Carson High. "We've had to wait all this time (at the high school), now we're finally going to get him."
Bozin and Lamborn will wrestle Saturday at the Tah-Neva League Championships in Yerington -- both are undefeated this season in the middle school league -- then return to the mat on Sunday for the Nevada Freestyle State Championships at North Valleys High School in Reno. After that, the World of Wrestling (WOW) tournament will attract a quality field to the Reno Livestock Events Center the first weekend of April. After that is the middle school nationals in Virginia Beach.
"I'm wrestling 140s now, but I plan to go down to 135s or 130s for middle school nationals," Lamborn said. "If you get in the top six, you're nationally ranked and get your name in all the (wrestling) magazines. I hope to win; I know it's going to be tough, but I've been working hard trying to get more snappy."
Bozin has compiled a 52-8 record this season, including freestyle and Tah-Neva League matches.
"It's a tough sport. It's not like the team sports because you get to face your opponent one-on-one," Bozin said. "You get to see who's stronger and who has more technique.
"I'm very excited about the middle school nationals. I'm hoping I can place high."
Lamborn is 43-2 this season, with one of those losses coming in overtime against a 2001 California state champion. "That guy hasn't lost a match in three years," Lamborn said.
Last year, Lamborn split two matches against another California standout, Clayton Jack from Vacaville, who recently placed third at the prestigious Northern California Tournament of Champions.
"It takes dedication. You've got to want to do it," Lamborn said. "I love football (he scored 11 touchdowns for his Carson Pop Warner team last fall), but I think I'm a better wrestler. In wrestling, it's all about you and not anybody else. If you lose, then you have nobody else to blame, and if you win, you get all of the glory."
Lamborn has won more than 150 matches over the last three years and has three state championships to his credit. He hopes to add to that list after he gets to Carson High next year.
His older brother placed fourth at the Nevada 4A state tournament as a senior 160-pounder in 2000.
"We're pretty close. He comes down and helps me out whenever he can," Travis said of Brandon, who currently wrestles for the University of Nevada club program. "He never won state, now he says he wants to see me do it."
Wrestling isn't the only sport the Lamborns share together because Travis helps his father during the spring and summer months at Champion Speedway.
"He pits for me when I wrestle, but then I've got to help him out when he races," Travis said, smiling.
Dave Price is a sports writer for the Nevada Appeal