The Jimenez brothers of Chandler Basha could have found a way out.

The twins had their opportunities to walk away, or at the very least, taken a mere step back, from wrestling.

But they never did waiver in becoming top state contenders as seniors.

Ryan was thrown into the varsity lineup as a freshman even though he never had wrestled prior to that season. He took his poundings, learned from them and used them as inspiration to get better. Tyler broke his wrist in that first year and didn't get started until his sophomore season and watched his brother improve at a quicker rate.

Now, Ryan is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in Class 5A Division I at 152 pounds and has a 32-0 record after winning the Flowing Wells Invitational in Tucson over the weekend.

"We talked to the family and told them if it ever became too much, if he was losing confidence or didn't want to do it, we could put him on junior varsity," Basha coach Mike Garcia recalled about his star's freshman campaign. "Never happened. A lot of kids would take the easy out, but he just kept going out there."

Tyler, born six minutes after Ryan, has been behind from the start. He was on varsity as a sophomore, took similar drubbings in his first full season, and nearly placed at the state tournament as a junior, and appears to be on his way to the podium at state after finishing fifth at Flowing Wells.

"He has even less experience and it's kind of been the running joke where Ryan wins a big tournament and he places or just misses and kind of rolls his eyes and 'Oh, Ryan got it and I didn't,' " Garcia said. "But it's real good hearted and both of these kids have great hearts. There is not a spec of jealousy."

Then when Tyler, whose father Mondo was a state placer for Gilbert, started to close the gap, he broke his wrist again doing wall sprints in practice this season, putting him behind once again.

"At the end of last year in the room, the coaches thought he was at Ryan's level," Garcia said. "He was there, competing with him move for move. He made a huge jump and the beginning of the year was so promising. Then boom, another wrist injury."

Tyler, who is ranked second at 145 despite still not being in complete wrestling shape, came back in December to win the tough McClintock tournament the first time out and was 11-3 on the season heading into Flowing Wells.

"That was big for me," Tyler said of the McClintock result. "I missed all of that time and won the first tournament I was in. It showed me how much I improved and that I was ready to get to the next level."

Getting there starts in the practice room, where the twins drill together and have practice matches. It gets intense, but remains peaceful, which is just another sign of not taking the easy way out.

"This is my third set of twins, and there have been times where we have had to separate (other brothers) because they'd come to blows," Garcia said. "These guys never get to that point. They don't like losing to each other, but they are level-headed and they realize they make each other better instead of bitter."

So the Jimenez brothers endured the lumps and the bumps to be on the brink of possible dual state title runs, knowing they wouldn't have that chance without family support.

"My dad taught us to keep trying and keep going," Ryan said. "It would get better from there on and stick with it."