Freshmen Alex Tsagaan and Arthur Tsagaan have spent the past two years competing together in wrestling and football. The twins are currently part of the JV football and varsity wrestling teams at Gunn, and they draw from prior athletic experiences. Being the same age has helped shape who they are as athletes and as individuals who have developed skills together and supported each other throughout their athletic journeys.

“My favorite moment is probably the time (when our) coaches pitted the players against each other one-on-one tackling drills,” Alex Tsagaan said. “For the last round, he chose us to go head-to-head. I think that was really fun.”

Although the Tsagaan twins generally enjoy playing together, challenges can arise when sharing the spotlight. Arthur and Alex Tsagaan have often felt the pressures of comparison, but nevertheless appreciate the competitive nature of sports without letting it take over their relationship.

“We do compare ourselves from time to time, but not out loud,” Alex Tsagaan said. “We don’t usually let it interfere with our play.”

Additionally, Alex and Arthur are identical twins, which creates further obstacles that other types of siblings don’t experience when playing on the same team.

“The main challenge for us was when we were doing our football team (was that) they got confused with who was who because we look so alike, and our names both start with an A,” Arthur Tsagaan said.

Regardless, the twins uphold a positive attitude while facing challenges. Having each other as a support system is helpful. However, they know they are separate individuals.

“We’re very supportive of each other,” Arthur Tsagaan said. “Competition and comparisons never really bothered us. We know our own standards and where we want to be, and we have different skill sets.”

From the Manning and Kelce brothers to the Williams sisters, siblings in sports have always been a fan-favorite narrative. For senior Kayla Yao and her sister, sophomore Maile Yao, basketball has helped strengthen their relationship by creating a sense of camaraderie. They both play for Gunn — Kayla Yao is on the girls’ varsity basketball team, while Maile Yao is on junior varsity. Although they stopped playing club basketball during the pandemic, the two sisters have many fond childhood memories to look back on from that time.

“We used to play horse and (knockout) in the backyard together,” Maile Yao said. “Whenever we’d play, we’d always throw the ball over the fence by accident, and we’d always have to walk on the other side of the fence to get it. Once, that happened three times in one game, and it was really funny.”

Influenced by their dad’s interest in the sport, both Maile and Kayla started playing basketball in first grade.

“When I started playing, even though (Maile) wasn’t old enough, she kind of picked it up and eventually got into playing,” said Kayla Yao.

When they were first starting out, as the older sibling, Kayla used to give Maile basketball-related advice. As of late, the sport is more about having fun and neither sister wants the sport to be a source of negativity or stress. Because of this mindset, despite playing the same sport, both sisters agree that there is no competition between them at all.

“It’s more of a bonding experience,” Kayla said. Maile Yao echoed her sister’s sentiment and explained how basketball is an opportunity for them to hang out and catch up with each other despite their busy schedules.

“We support each other, make fun of each other, and joke around,” Maile said. “When we’re playing, we don’t really talk about basketball. We talk about everything else.”