Two heads are better than one. The old saying holds some truth, especially when looking at Mesa State’s athletes.  Mesa State’s men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s tennis, women’s swimming, and football teams all have pairs of siblings currently on their rosters.
Playing a college sport and having to share the spotlight with a sibling may seem like a challenge for some athletes. However, in the eyes of the Mav coaches, there’s nothing better than the loyalty that brothers or sisters on the same team can bring to the sport, and their fellow teammates.
“There are many advantages to playing with my brother on the same team. We push each other, and we are both very competitive,” Colton Burgon said. “We tend to be a little harder on each other than our other teammates, but at the end of the day after practice is over, we can still be brothers.”
Both Colton and Chandler Burgon came to Mesa State to play basketball because they wanted to compete side by side. Even though they started at different times, and at different schools, they both ended up here at Mesa State and have been a great addition to the team.
Both are business majors at Mesa State. Chandler focuses on entrepreneurship, and Colton on marketing.
Kaitlan and Kelleen Sera are identical twins from Lahaina, Hawaii. Both play for the women’s tennis team. They started at the same time here at Mesa State in Fall of 2008.
“The advantages to having sisters on a team together are that they know each other better than anyone else, they play doubles together, and they know how to read each other. The only disadvantage would be that since they are so close, they tend to be really hard on each other,” said coach Dan Macdonald.
He stressed that it’s fun to have twins on the same team, even though they get flustered with each other from time to time. These two athletes grew up with a father who had them playing together at every chance he could. Kaitlan and Kelleen play in both singles and doubles, and have been an excellent addition to the team since 2008.
There have been several sets of siblings who have made their legacy through athletics at Mesa State. Football has been one of the most prominent sports.
“There have been brothers at the same time, as well as different times. Currently, the two sets of brothers on the team are Trent and Trevor deBraga, along with Matthew and Michael Mankoff,” coach Joe Ramunno said.
The deBragas’ and the Mankoffs’, all juniors at Mesa State, uphold a sense of loyalty to the team, as Ramunno says. At one time, Mesa States’ football team had three sets of brothers, all playing on the same field. The Debragas’ both play the same position, defensive back, and were starters for the 2010 season. Matthew Mankoff was a starting center for the 2010 season, while Michael Mankoff started at quarterback for most of the year. Every athlete is a great contributor to a team, and when you throw siblings into the mix, Mav coaches feel that you see double the talent, and double the loyalty, which makes the season more exciting.
Keep an eye out for the Burgon brothers on the basketball court, the number one and two-ranked Sera sisters on the tennis court,and the deBragas’ and the Mankoffs’ on the gridiron.

nstimack@mesastate.edu