RATHDRUM — Some kids are born to be athletes.

Others are just groomed that way from the time they’re able to walk, whether that be throwing a football in the back yard or shooting a basketball in the driveway until the street lights come on.

Chances are, if you’re from Rathdrum — with the last name of Edelblute — you’re going to wrestle.

That’s just in their blood.

Lakeland High has four Edelblutes on its roster this season — freshman Alex (98 pounds), sophomore Sam (106 pounds), junior William (113) — all brothers — and their cousin Brian, a senior (126) — all with the goal of joining their fathers as a state champion.

Alex, Sam and Will are the sons of Pat Edelblute, a former Lakeland wrestler. Brian’s father, Rich Edelblute, is the twin brother of current coach Rob Edelblute. Both are also ex-Hawk wrestlers.

Rob and Rich wrestled on the Hawks’ state A-2 title teams in 1988 and ’89 — the last time Lakeland won a state title in wrestling. Pat wrestled as a senior on the ’88 title team; Rob and Rich were seniors in ’89. The twins won state individual titles as seniors — Rob at 112, Rich at 125. Pat won a state title at 132 in ’88.

Lakeland took second at state in 4A last year.

Brian has been wrestling for the last 13 years, starting out with the club program in Rathdrum.

“I’ve got a pretty strong relationship with my uncle (Rob) for sure,” Brian said. “Whenever there’s a morning practice, he knows where we live, so he’ll pull us out of bed and bring us to practice.”

“It’s stressful at times,” Rob Edelblute said. “I’m quite a bit harder on them than the rest of the team. The expectations are there for them and it’s tough to separate family and athletes at times. It’s a little more stressful because wrestling doesn’t end at 5 p.m. for them like the other kids because they’re right there.”

Brian is 36-11 on the season, finishing fifth at the 2016 Tri-State Invitational.

“I’ve just always put my nose to the grindstone with it,” Brian said of wrestling. “I wasn’t really good at it when I was younger. But as the years went on, and all of us began traveling to these different tournaments, I started to get better. And it felt like a family.”

Will Edelblute, 37-5 on the season, finished runner-up at state last year.

“My dad put us into it when we were young and we kind of stuck with it,” Will said. “I didn’t enjoy it when I was little, but as I got older, and started to win more, I really started to enjoy it.”

Will was third at Tri-State this year.

Sam Edelblute, also a runner-up at state last year, has been wrestling for 11 years. His record is 33-7 this season.

“It’s always been a family sport, so we’ve just kept up with it,” Sam said.

Alex Edelblute, 33-5 on the season, will make his first appearance at state starting on Friday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

“I was kind of born into the sport,” Alex said. “It was just something that we all did.”

And something they’ve done well all year in Rob Edelblute’s 18th year as coach.

“It’s different because he’s harder on us and is more strict,” said Will of having his uncle as a coach. “He holds us to a higher standard than some of the other members of the team.”

Not that it’s a bad thing.

“I feel like more is expected of me,” Sam said. “But I like it that way. It just makes me work harder, I guess.”

“There are times we’ll go to our grandparents for dinner and our dads will talk about wrestling and conversations are about wrestling,” Brian said. “But there are other times they can be really laid back, and he’ll always help you out.”

While Brian hasn’t had to face his cousins in a tournament, his brothers haven’t been able to avoid each other, wrestling near the same weight class.

“I’ve had to wrestle both my brothers a lot,” Will said. “I usually get pretty nervous, especially when I wrestle Sam because he’s beaten me a few times. I’m his older brother, so I guess because I’m older, I’m supposed to be better than him. But most of the other times, it’s pretty laid back.”

“I always want to beat them because it’s something to brag about,” Sam said. “But it’s nerve-wracking and fun at the same time.”

Don’t worry, they won’t wrestle each other this weekend as each qualified in different weight classes, all winning regional titles last weekend at Lakeland.

“We’ve just put a lot of work into this group of kids,” Brian said. “Jared (Walker), Larry (Johnson) and the rest of us, we’ve spent a lot of time getting better.”

“There’s just been a group of us that are doing pretty good at tournaments,” Will said. “Sam, Alex, Brian, Jared, Larry and I have been doing really well this year. We all usually do pretty good, but with our No. 2 guys, they’re doing really well.”

Alex contributes it to hard work paying off.

“This year, we’re just working a lot harder than before,” Alex said. “We’ve got good captains and we’re just working harder for it than we’ve done in the past. Sometimes, I don’t like the intensity, because when you’re super tired and about to pass out, it’s a little tough.”

This season, Lakeland has finished sixth at the Sierra Nevada Classic in Reno, fourth at the Tri-State Invitational and fourth at the River City Duals in Post Falls.

“Every week, it’s a tough tournament,” Brian said. “We’ve only had one week off throughout the whole season.”

“Our schedule has been the toughest it’s been, maybe in the history of the school,” Will said. “We’ve had some tough matches that will definitely help us out a lot down the road.”

Unfortunately for the boys, some of the program’s toughest tests came during the holidays this year, with Tri-State and the Reno tournament falling within a week of each other.

“If we’re really focusing on cutting weight, he’ll (Rob) say something about what we’re eating,” Brian joked. “But he’ll always keep an eye on us.”

“At Thanksgiving and Christmas, we’ll eat a little less than normal with him here,” Sam said. “But it’s all in fun and he’s just looking out for us.”

And possibly to follow in the family footsteps.

“It would mean a lot to me,” Brian said. “It would be everything to get a state title. Having a state championship and being on a championship team would be a good feeling.”

“We haven’t won state here in a long time and the last one for the wrestling team was in 1989,” Sam said. “It would just be pretty insane.”

And their coach/uncle agreed.

“They’re focused, matured and growing up,” Rob said. “They’re no longer my little nephews and you can see that in the wrestling room. It’s a big family together, even with Jared, Larry and Tavis (Woempner). They know the expectations for them. It has been an honor to watch them grow from a young age.”

And getting to share that state championship feeling?

“It would really be cool,” Rob said. “My brother and I were part of the first team to ever win one here. To have the be a part of it, and the feeling we had in ’88 and ’89, it’s amazing and I want them to be part of that history. It would be special to see the numerous names of Edelblutes on the trophy case.”