TWIN MAGIC Pair of fraternal twins excel in sports at Lexington High School
Thomas Grant Jr.
chroniclesports@yahoo.com
chroniclesports@yahoo.com
Posted 1/9/19
National Center for Health Statistics data shows 33 twins are born for every 1,000 US pregnancies.
The odds of having twins competing at the …
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TWIN MAGIC Pair of fraternal twins excel in sports at Lexington High School
Lexington High School basketball players Brooke and Bradley Foulks and Mason Carver and volleyball/track and field athlete Mackenzie Carver
Mason Carver
Brooke Faulks
Mackenzie Carver
Bradley Foulks
Posted
National Center for Health Statistics data shows 33 twins are born for every 1,000 US pregnancies.
The odds of having twins competing at the same high school at the same time seem even rarer.
At Lexington High, the rare exception is quite literally true with two sets of twins competing at a high level in sports.
Meet seniors Bradley and Brooke Foulks and Mason and Mackenzie Carver. Both Foulks are starters on the boys' and girls' basketball teams and while Mason also plays hoops, his older sister by 17 minutes Mackenzie is a 2-time Region 5-5A champion in volleyball and competes in track and field.
Sibling rivalry
In each case, there's a balancing act between sibling support and friendly competition.
"I never let him forget that I'm always older, so I guess coming with that, we're pretty competitive with each other," Mackenize said.
"Whether it's school or sports or anything like that, so obviously, I try to beat him in everything which I think makes him work harder, too. So it's a good balance with fun and competition."
"Whether it was football or athletics, I always want to be better than her," Mason said. "I know it's different because she was playing volleyball and softball and I was playing basketball and baseball. Always on the go, be one up on her, be better than her."
"After every game, we always compare our stats and all that stuff," Bradley said. "Just arguing, just joking around about who did better. Who's the best player and that stuff."
"The girls are always going to do better," Brooke said. "So, hopefully we can keep our record up and, hopefully, they can do."
So far, the older Foulks by 5 minutes has the edge. The 6th ranked boys are off to their best start ever at 18-0 following Tuesday's Region 5-5A opening win at White Knoll.
Head coach Bailey Harris has been a major beneficiary of the "twin magic" in his backcourt.
"He's (Bradley) such a good-natured kid," Lexington head coach Bailey Harris said. "He's always got a smile on his face and just always a positive, upbeat attitude. Good leader. He's grown so much since his freshman year, gotten to where he's very coachable and a good leader. He's really developed as a person, but just has had that great smile and likable personality."
"Mason's probably a little more of a serious nature there. You don't always see him. He's not always (showing) that smile that Brad's flashing at you, but they complement each other well and are very good leaders on our team. Mason's one of the hardest workers I've ever had and he's just really drives as a competitor out there. He's fun to coach."
Meanwhile, the Lady Wildcats currently own a 11-3 record. Among the contributing factors is the play of the "scrappy" Foulks, the team's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.
“She hustles around the boards, she finishes around the rim," head coach Molly Goodrich said. "The thing with her is she can catch anything and she’s just like a silent assassin. She doesn’t look big, she doesn’t look tough. She is just scrappy out there. She’s very important to our team and she’s definitely one of our best rebounders.”
Supporting each other
When not preparing for a contest, Brooke's "older" twin is one of her biggest fans.
"Whenever my sister does something good on the court, I'm always cheering," Bradley said. "I'm always having her back and telling her what she did wrong, by the way, and the good things she did."
In the end, both fraternal twins want the best for their silbings. Mason acknowledge getting motivation from his sister's athletic success in reaching the Lower State finals twice in volleyball and reaching the S.C. High School League Track and Field championships this past May.
Mackenzie finished 6th in the 800 meters and 4th with the 4x800 meter relay team.
"My sister went to state last year in track last year, so she's got that on me right now," Mason said.
In turn, Mackenzie wants to see her younger twin not only reach the Lower State, but win it as well.
"That would really be fun because I love going to games and going and watching him would be fun," she said.
Keywords
Foulks, Carver, basketball, volleyball
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