One might believe that being born one minute apart would give ample opportunity for sibling rivalry. Zach and Josh Henderson, however, do not display that. Of course, they have their differences. They’re brothers. But these days, about the worst competition you will see between the two of them is their daily chess matches.

They, of course, have competed, but they have let nature take its course and realized how they each can excel at various skills. Zach, the elder, is a sprinter and javelin thrower, while Josh puts the shot and throws the discus.

“They’re fraternal twins, so they look like brothers but they both have distinct personalities,” said Sarah Henderson, mother of the two. “They also have some similarities, with both being interested in the sciences and athletics. They like to push each other in a healthy way. Being twins, they’ve spent more time with each other than they have me. They know each other better than most people, but they are developing into their own unique men. They seem to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I’ve seen now that they’ve matured they’re a little bit nicer to each other. They’re always going to be close.”

Observing the interaction of the two on Saturday one could see how their relationship has developed. Josh, the younger by one minute, had competed at 9 a.m. in the discus. He finished first with a throw of 48.72 meters, outdistancing the second-place finisher by 5.66 meters. For those of us used to standard U.S. measurements, that’s a difference of 18 feet and seven inches. With the way the sectional meet was set up, Josh then had until 3 p.m. before his next event, the shot put.

In the meantime, Zach’s day would not start until 1 p.m. with the 100-meter dash. Zach qualified for the state meet with a third-place finish, while the rest of the javelin throwers were competing approximately 300 yards away. At 1:20  p.m., Zach went to compete with his teammates in the 4x200-meter dash, setting a school record and qualifying for state with a first-place finish.

As soon as Zach and his teammates had finished that race, Zach headed to the javelin area for his throws. With almost zero warmup time, and all other competitors having cleared the area, Zach took his first throw. He only threw for around 41 meters, well behind the eventual winner’s throw of 54.42. Very quickly, Zach lined up to take his second throw. It was obvious the second throw was well short of the first. At that point, Zach was heard to say, “I’m just too tired.” He then told the officials, “don’t bother measuring that one, I’ll just take a scratch on it.” As he turned to the official and asked what was the distance for the person in fourth place, Josh could be seen walking up to the throwing area. Without knowing anything about the previous two throws, he said to his brother, “you’ve got time, take all the time they allow you before you throw.”

Already knowing the two-minute time limit between throws, Zach sat down on the stands and took all the rest time he could. He then walked to the end of the throwing area with Josh quietly, but firmly, telling him, “you got this.”

Zach proceeded to run toward the foul line and launched the spear 45.17 meters for a third-place finish. Good enough to qualify for state by 2.32 meters.

The Hendersons were not done, however, as they both had one more event in which to complete. At 2:20 p.m. Zach was back running with the 4x100-meter dash with his teammates Kaden Polson, Garren Vroman, and Chase Allen-Jackman. They also qualified with a win at 44.74 seconds. Josh competed in the shot put, finishing third at 15.31 meters.

“We’re pretty competitive, but it helps when we don’t do the same event in track,” Josh said. “It benefits the team, too. He’s faster, but I’m stronger.”

Zach said he really enjoys the brotherhood of relays. “We have some really good potential to do really well at state, but I have the biggest passion for javelin.

“It’s kind of weird, but sometimes we just think the same things at the same time,” Zach said.

With both minds looking toward state championships, the Henderson boys might well be bringing home six top-three finishes to compare with each other.