A wrestling family through-and-through: MacIntosh siblings of Brockton are among the elite

It was passed down through their father and his side of the family tree. Now its on siblings Shaymus, Rowan and Colby MacIntosh to carry the wrestling torch in hand. Proudly.

In the one year they are all enrolled at Northfield Mount Hermon in the western Mass. town of Gill, the trio from Brockton have done it well so far.

Shaymus is a senior, Rowan is a sophomore and Colby is a freshman – all three finished first in their respective weight brackets in the New England Independent School Wrestling Association (NEISWA) Class A tournament last month to advance to the New England regional tournament.

Rowan proceeded to take first in the 107-pound bracket at New Englands, Shaymus took second in the 165-pound and Colby finished fourth in the 113-pound en route to moving on to the National meet, in which Rowan finished second, Shaymus finished fifth and Colby split with a 2-2 record and did not place.

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“It was fun to be able to compete with both my siblings," said Colby MacIntosh.

The freshman-senior gap between Colby and Shaymus MacIntosh made this winter the lone season it was possible.

“I’d always try to do the math when I was younger to figure out when my brother and I could be in high school at the same time,” said Shaymus MacIntosh, who is committed wrestle to Division 1 Morgan State (Maryland) in college next year. “So it was very exciting to watch my brother wrestle in the finals. Then, 20 minutes later, I’m wrestling in the finals. Same singlet, same school.”

“When we all succeed at the same level, it makes me very proud because that’s my family. We can do anything," Rowan MacIntosh said. "Like, it’s unique to have three kids at the same school at the same time, let alone on the same sports team. That’s the most amazing thing about it.”

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Their father, Daniel, and uncle, Scott, were the first to show them the ropes. Daniel MacIntosh was a sectional champion at Brockton High before taking the mat at Bridgewater State between 1997-2001 and finishing his collegiate career 15th on the university's all-time wins list with 77.

“When we were born, we were brought into the sport," Colby MacIntosh said.

“There would be father-daughter dances in February and my father would be in Wildwood, New Jersey, at a tournament with my brothers. I’d be like, well, who needs father-daughter dances when we could have father-daughter wrestling tournaments?" Rowan MacIntosh said with a laugh. "I’d go with them and even though I wouldn’t wrestle then, we would go out to dinner just the two of us.

“In my opinion, in seventh and eighth grade, I was sort of (wrestling) to spend more time with my dad, to get closer to my dad. But now, I’ve learned to love it for myself. I know how important these things are for me – exercise and working out – both physically and mentally. And I get the feeling that I won every day after practice, which is what I wanted and I hadn’t realized it since this season.”

Shaymus dubbed the sport "a sacred space" for him and Colby growing up, before Rowan truly committed to it just before hitting the high school ranks. Colby recalled duking it out on a mat in the designated "wrestling room" in the basement of the family's Brockton home before Shaymus was the first of the three to live on campus. The family has since moved to Marshfield a few years ago.

"It made me much better," said Colby MacIntosh. "Those are a lot of the early memories I have.”

Those early days translated to excelling on the big stage in present day.

“I get way more nervous for my brother and sister’s matches than I do for mine,” said Shaymus MacIntosh. “I saw this thing (online), there were two brothers wrestling in college and the older brother said he’d lose 100 times to see my brother win once. That’s something I really agreed with. I want him to win so much. Of course I want to win and do well, but I want him to do so much better. And my sister, I want her to do so much better.”

Rowan MacIntosh made the jump to first this year after finishing in second to Abigail Alicandro, of Marianapolis Prep, by a 5-3 margin in last year's National Preps bracket: “It was very emotional for me because last year," said Rowan MacIntosh. "To be in the finals (this year) and come up on top, it was probably one of the biggest things that happened to me in my life, in an athletic vision.”

“My dad always says you’ll get 1% better every day and I truly believe that now," she added. "I can see (it). I saw myself getting better every time I won a match or got a takedown against someone I’ve never gotten a takedown on before. … I slowly started improving.”

“I was really excited for her," Colby MacIntosh said. "Since I’ve been wrestling with her all this year, I could tell she was getting a lot better. All the work she put in has paid off.”

Next year will be yet a new experience, as one sets off for the collegiate success as the younger two look to build upon the success this time-capsule year delivered.

Said Shaymus MacIntosh, “It was nice to have one season with the whole family.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: A family bonded by wrestling: MacIntosh siblings of Brockton live it