Ryan and Scott Lindquist do almost everything together. Almost.
Bryan has the role of Tony Kirby in next month's production of "You Can't Take it With You" at Esko High School and runs cross country.
Scott Lindquist sings in the school choir and is making a
transition from tenor to bass, and plays football.
But usually if you see one twin, you see the other.
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"It seems like we always hang out together and are doing the same things. We have the same friends,'' Bryan says.
"We're good friends, we respect each other and we've always
gotten along really well,'' Scott says.
For the record, Scott is three minutes older and about 2 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than Bryan.
They shared the same room and bunk bed through seventh grade, before an addition was put on their home. They've had a strong athletic bond since age 10 when they started tagging along with their dad, Tim, to Esko cross country practice.
Tim Lindquist, 47, a fourth-grade teacher at Winterquist Elementary, is a cross country assistant coach and former Esko High School runner. His wife, Shari, was an athlete at Carlton High School and still holds the girls high jump record in track. Both are avid runners.
The twins took to the sport.
"They wanted to do what we did. We never forced them to try running, but we encouraged them because we value fitness,'' said Shari Lindquist, a nurse at the Carlton Nursing Home. "They were good at it right away.''
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The Lindquists run right from the backdoor of their home in Thomson Township. They're steps away from the paved Munger State Trail and grassy Jay Cooke State Park routes.
The twins started with summer Wednesday Night at the Races events in Duluth and Superior, smaller road races, and then took on the Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon in 2002. The 13-year-olds ran 13.1 miles -- Bryan in 1 hour, 29 minutes, 2 seconds and Scott in 1:34:59. Shari got the twins entered, and then ran the race in 1:44:24.
"I was pretty dead at the end of that. I said, 'I'm never going to do that again,' but I knew I really liked running,'' said Bryan. "It's a grueling sport, but it makes you push past your limits. I've always dreamed of being the fastest person in a race. I've always wanted to beat whoever was in front of me.''
That fall, in seventh grade, the Lindquists joined the Esko cross country varsity and ran together for two seasons.
Scott joined the football program as a ninth-grader and now is one of the team's most versatile athletes. He leads Esko in receiving and is a safety, punter, kick returner and holder. The only time he's not on the field is when Esko kicks off.
"In a way I felt I was disappointing my dad and my brother when I left cross country. I figure I would've been an all-right runner, but I needed to take my own path,'' said Scott. "My cousin, Keith Lofgren [a Minnesota Duluth freshman receiver] was a role model for me and I knew that football was the sport I really wanted to play. I love everything about football Friday nights under the lights.''
The twins are together as basketball guards at Esko -- Scott led the Eskomos in most statistical categories last season, while Bryan was the first player off the bench.
And running remains a family activity.
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During summer trips to Maine, Washington, Montana, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina and Oregon, the Lindquists take camping gear, bikes, a football and basketball, and running shoes. If there's a track or a running path, it's time to run.
This summer, Bryan attended a camp in the Mecca of American running, Eugene, Ore., and learned about training, racing and the life of late U.S. distance running star Steve Prefontaine, who at one time held U.S. records from 2,000 meters to 10,000 meters. This fall he's ranked as the Northland's top prep cross country runner entering Saturday's 57th Swain Invitational at Enger Park Golf Course. The Esko football team is home Friday afternoon against Deer River.
"Bryan is having his best year of running because he's committed, he puts in the time and listens to instruction,'' says Tim Lindquist. He also says both twins are headstrong, competitive and have a good sense of humor.
Bryan helped set the Esko boys 3,200-relay school track record last spring on the way to the Minnesota Class A meet. Scott was on Esko's football team for Class AA state-tournament appearances in 2004 and 2005.
While there's talk at home that Scott may run with Esko in some cross country meets yet this season, a second Lindquist is already on the team, eighth-grader Jackson. He's nearly as tall as his brothers and is the team's No. 4 runner.
