Tom and Terry Brands are perhaps the most famous wrestling twins in the world. Tom was a three-time NCAA champion for Iowa and won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Terry garnered two national crowns for the Hawkeyes, and was a 2000 Olympic bronze medalist.

The Brands brothers were renowned for their "relentless offensive attack, dedication to training, hard-nosed aggressive style, and dominance against even the toughest opponents," according to Wikipedia.com.

Montana's version of the Brands are Townsend's Rauser twins - Jade and Valyen. Jade, who is undefeated at 27-0, recently won the Southern B-C Divisional 98-pound championship in Whitehall, pinning teammate Keagan Larson in the finals in 55 seconds in the finals. Val, at 34-1, copped the division crown at 105, stapling Lathan Crossland of Cascade/Simms in 2:50.

So dominating are the identical twins, that Jade has yet to lose a takedown this year, while Val has given up just one. Not counting deliberate escapes - letting your opponent up on purpose - Jade has allowed just three points scored against him, with Val giving up only five. Neither matman has permitted a reversal.

Of Jade's 27 victories, only two have gone the distance, as he's pinned 12 of 14 matches contested, with 13 forfeits. Val owns 18 pins, three decisions and 13 forfeits.

And here's the kicker - they're only freshman.

"They wrestle and train 12 months a year, and they've got great workout partners in the practice room, especially themselves," said Townsend coach John O'Dell, explaining the twins' success. "They push each other every day and are so competitive, they don't like to lose to the other in practice. Heck, they don't even like to give up a point to each other."

When asked who was better, Val said that it depends. "I usually take him down, but then he'll get mad and I'll start laughing, and then he gets the takedown on me," he related.

"He might be a little better," said Jade of his larger brother. "But lately I've been getting in a few licks of my own."

And the friendly rivalry doesn't just take place on the wrestling mat. The brothers are also very competitive in the classroom. "He'll come up to me after a test and want to know what I got. If I beat him, I'll rub it in with, 'You better study some more,' " laughed Valyen.

The twins took up the sport of wrestling at 4 years of age and liked it right away, according to their parents, Kurt and Tiffany Rauser.

"They were beating the snot out of each other fist-fighting, so we decided to get them into wrestling," said Kurt, who himself became Townsend's only 2-time state mat champion when he competed for the Bulldogs 20 years ago.

At the annual Montana USA Wrestling Tournaments, Val has won 12 Freestyle and 11 Greco Roman state championships, while Jade has captured 12 Greco Roman and 11 Freestyle crowns.

Both boys are multiple AAU Ironman state titlists. On the national scene, Val qualified for the Tulsa/Reno circuit's 12-and-under World All-Star team. He has been a double champion in Green Bay twice. Jade copped the Golden Gear triple-crown trophy at Denver's Rocky Mountain National series.

At the 2007 USA Cadet National Championships in Fargo, N.D., last summer, Val won the Greco Roman title at 91 pounds, with Jade placing runnerup at 84 pounds. They both finished second in the Freestyle competition. With over 4,000 contestants, this is the world's largest amateur tournament.

The Rauser's do most of their traveling around the country in their dad's 2005 Honda Caravan.

"We usually go with (Townsend's Cobra Wrestling Club coach) Ken and (his son) Brit Thompson, and whoever else from the club we can fit in," explained Kurt regarding their cross-country trips in the 8-man van. "It's about 24-25 hours to Tulsa and Green Bay, so we just sleep in the van on the trip over and the way back, and stay in cheap motels when we get there."

The Rausers have put over 80,000 miles on their caravan in just 2½ years. Kurt explains that the time and expense of these pilgrimages to tournaments are necessary in order to compete at a national level.

"The kids deserve to go," he said.

Both brothers have the same goals - to be 4-time state champs and earn collegiate scholarships. And it's those dreams that keeps them lifting weights, practicing thousands of drills and competing year-round.

Val said his favorite takedowns are the Cuban knee pick and the inside trip, his best pin combination is the arm-bar, and his top reversal is a sit out with a switch. Jade's favorite moves are, respectively, a high crotch off a 2-on-1, an arm-bar and an inside switch.

Their national exposure has allowed the Rauser twins to take the state by storm in their first year of high school. They are each prohibitive favorites at this weekend's state tournament in Billings, having already handily beaten their chief competition. Val's only loss (by a single point to a junior AA grappler) came shortly after he had dropped almost 10 pounds and been diagnosed for colitis. He has since regained the weight and is on the proper medication.

Kurt Rauser pointed out that Bulldog freshman Britton Thompson, who recently won the Southern Division crown at 125 pounds, has been instrumental in his sons' success.

"Wrestling against (the bigger) Brit has made us stronger," Rauser said. "In fact, we could never have been able to do what we've done without the support of the Cobra Club and the entire Townsend community."

Reporter Curt Synness, phone 449-2150, email curt52s@bresnan.net