BILLINGS — In the hallways of Billings Senior High, identical-twin wrestlers Seri and Sophi Catt admit they're more contrasting than alike.
"Me and my sister have always been different," Seri explained to MTN Sports before a recent wrestling practice.
"I’m more artistic," Sophi added.
Seri nodded in agreement. "I’ve always been more organized."
Sophi chimed in, "I’m more go-with-the-flow."
Despite their differences, both Seri and Sophi are state placers for the Broncs — a remarkable achievement considering they once found wrestling repellent as they watched their older brother compete.
"I went to one of his tournaments, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is stupid... this is weird," Seri recalled.
However, everything changed during their freshman year when their mom, Jessy, persuaded them to try a wrestling camp.
"Ever since that day, I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing," Seri said.
"And I ended up joining and really loving it," Sophi added.
Fast-forward to today, and the once-hesitant freshmen are now juniors who are fully hooked on the sport. Seri is eager to eclipse her third-place finish at last year's state tournament while Sophi would love to best her fifth-place medal.
As a team, the Broncs won back-to-back state titles last February and appear deep enough to three-peat next week in Billings.
Reflecting on their early days, though, Seri shared with a smile, "Kind of growing up, our parents dressed us alike, and I always hated it."
Looking back at photos, good luck telling them apart. Even the twins sometimes find it challenging.
"We were identical identical," Seri laughed. "I can’t even tell who was who in our photos when we were younger."
Their resemblance even allowed them to pull off a little school trick.
"We were put in separate classes in elementary school and had tests," Seri said.
"I had an english test, and she had an art test," Sophi explained.
"And I was always better at english, and she was better at art," Seri continued.
Sophi grinned and added, "She was not good at art, and she did not enjoy it."
"So we just switched classes," Seri said.
"And that's when we had the same hair and dressed the same, so we just swapped," Sophi said matter-of-factly.
"I aced her english, and she aced my art. It was great. My parents still don’t know about it, but it’s OK," Seri said with a sheepish grin.
Even now, Broncs' wrestling coach Charlie Klepps admits he differentiates the twins mainly by their hairstyles. Sophi sports dreadlocks.
"I don’t like to be the same as other people; I like to branch out," Sophi said. "I started my dreadlocks in seventh grade, and I’ve had them for five years now."
Since Seri identifies as the more organized twin, we decided to put her on the spot and check her locker.
"I have my little gum collection," she said modestly.
Seri typically hangs her backpack inside with neatly arranged books, but that's about it. While we didn’t check Sophi's locker, she confessed hers is usually less tidy.
Both sisters also admitted that when paired together during practice, tensions can rise.
"Charlie is like, okay, we’ve got to split you two," Seri said chuckling.
Still, they have hopes of wrestling together for years to come.
"I really want to go to college with my twin sister," Sophia said. "I think it could be really fun; I think we could make lots of memories."
Seri agreed. "No one knows me better than her. It’s like I have a built-in best friend."
