Inside the practice-room wars fueling the Kerr twins’ title push at Maize South

In the Maize South wrestling room, there are no favors for family.

When practice starts, fraternal twins Josh and Max Kerr don’t give each other any special treatment because they’re brothers. If anything, they go harder at on each other. They lock in like opponents chasing the same prize, hand-fighting with purpose, battling through positions and refusing to give an inch. The mat becomes a proving ground, not a safe space, where bragging rights matter more than bloodlines.

Those daily battles are the furnace that has forged the Kerr twins into two of the most dominant wrestlers in Kansas. Josh is a defending state champion who is currently 33-0 this season with a staggering 206 takedowns in the 144-pound division, while Max is 13-0 in the 150-pound division. Both are ranked No. 1 in Class 5A in their respective weight classes.

They are chasing something rare: two state titles, won back-to-back by twins, coached by their father and their uncle, on the same night.

That pursuit is fueled more by conflict than comfort.

“It’s like an all-out war with them,” said their father and coach, Matt Kerr. “Sometimes it ends with someone hurt or someone bleeding and next thing you know, fists are flying. It can get ugly.”

As quickly as the intensity flares, it disappears. Once practice ends, the twins are back to being each other’s biggest supporters, invested as deeply in the other’s success as their own.

“When we get mad at each other, we leave it on the mat,” Max said.

Wrestling wasn’t always their identity. Growing up, they were multi-sport athletes, splitting time between soccer, wrestling and baseball. They began wrestling at age 7, but neither treated it as a year-round pursuit.

That changed at the start of high school, first for Josh after he reached the 5A state finals at 138 pounds as a freshman.

“I fell in love with the journey,” Josh said. “I just love everything about wrestling. The practices, the competition, the grind that comes with it. It’s just a really fun and challenging sport.”

Josh committed fully, wrestling year-round and immersing himself in the sport. According to his father, that commitment turned natural talent into something more.

“I once had a wrestler describe it to me in a good way,” Matt said. “You don’t love wrestling, you get addicted to it. I think that’s a good way to describe what happened with them.”

Max’s path was more complicated. As a freshman, he finished 24-16 and qualified for the state tournament — a standout season for most — but it felt small compared to his brother’s success.

“I didn’t want to be seen as the bad brother,” Max said. “So his success definitely motivated me a lot.”

Because the two have always been practice partners, Josh’s increased commitment quickly showed in the wrestling room, where he began to dominate Max on a daily basis. After their first year of high school together, Max faced a crossroads.

“When you’re practicing with someone who is going two speeds above where you are at, it’s not fun,” Matt said. “So after that freshman year, Max had two choices: he could either quit or he could get up to speed.”

Max chose to get up to speed, enduring daily beatings in the practice room, which occasionally sparked the wars that their father now jokes about.

“We both are very competitive and we both want to win all of the time at everything,” Max said. “Sometimes one of us will think the other is going a little bit too hard and we’ll get mad at each. But we’re really just competitive, that’s all.”

Matt estimates he has broken up around 10 fights between the twins over the years.

“I’d rather have it happen in the wrestling room than in my living room,” he quipped.

While they are fraternal twins, they are different in height, hair color and temperament. According to their father, Josh is more high-strung, consumed by wrestling, constantly studying and refining his craft, while Max is more carefree, still enjoying life beyond the mat, including competing on Maize South’s eSports team.

Yet their daily clashes lift them both.

“We both benefit from going against each other every day,” Josh said. “Because when I’m getting better that means he’s getting better and vice versa. I think that’s why we’ve both had a lot of success.”

Both train year-round at the Wichita Training Center under coach Noel Torres, layering new techniques onto a foundation built by their father and uncle, Korie Kerr. Max credits those sessions, and the unrelenting challenge of facing Josh, for his growth.

“I think it would be hard to improve when you go against people that aren’t that good every day,” Max said. “So going against him every day gives me that feel of going against a great wrestler.”

The friction has paid off. After winning just one match at state as a freshman, Max surged as a sophomore, winning 48 matches and reaching the state finals at 144 pounds. He came one win short of joining Josh, who claimed the 5A title at 138.

Now, the twins want to finish the job together.

“It would be so cool to go back-to-back and win state,” Max said. “That’s definitely what motivates me. I don’t want to lose again and hear, ‘That’s the bad brother.’ I want to get back there and show that I’m good and we’re both good.”

As Maize South prepares for the Rocky Welton Invitational, a prestigious tournament held in Garden City, on Friday, the Kerr twins keep following the same rhythm that has brought them this far: battle fiercely in practice, then stand shoulder to shoulder when it counts as they chase the same goal, together.

“Wrestling is such a grind, so it’s definitely fun to have family around,” Max said. “It’s pretty cool to know that you’re getting coached hard and you’re getting better with your family.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 5:20 AM.

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6270

Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.