There are hundreds of different paths athletes can take to reach the heights of college sports, but three Hofstra wrestlers have followed the same exact route. They all started from the same address, too.
    
    At a time when members of closely-knit men's sports teams often call each other "brothers," Sage, Holden and Reece Heller actually are. Three-tenths of the Pride's starting lineup comes from one proud Riverwoods, Ill. family.

    Sage is a 174-pound redshirt junior, Holden a 157-pound sophomore and Reese a 149-pound freshman. All of them feel as comfortable on campus as they did in the Chicago-area house where the two younger brothers used to grapple on a basement mat every night. "It was like our video games, it was fun for us," Reece said. Sage, who always was older and bigger, added, "I was completely left out of that. They did their thing, I played video games."
           
    All three began in judo before the age of six, as did their older sister, Willow, a national junior champion. They took the lead from their dad, Mark, a martial arts expert. Sage was the first to evolve into a wrestler, developing into a state finalist as a senior at Deerfield High. He drew the attention of a friend of Hofstra coach Dennis Papadatos, who quickly started calling. With the Long Island-inspired encouragement of his mom, Nancy Koffler Heller, a former high school swimming star at West Islip, Sage signed with the Pride.
           
    During his freshman season, his parents and siblings took a few family trips to Hofstra. Holden grew familiar with Papadatos, the staff and the team, so he had little trouble choosing among several recruiters when it was time to pick a college. Reece had an even easier time deciding one year later. "They were a package deal," Sage said. "Wherever Holden was going to go, Reece was going to go. They weren't sure if it was going to be here. I think Purdue was in it, but I knew in the end, it would work itself out."
           
    Reece said, "I think by the time I showed up, the guys on the team were like, `Gosh, another one?' But it works. We're on the team."

    Holden and Reece, who grew up in bunk beds, are roommates as well as classmates in an ethics course. Sage lives in the dorm next door but often crashes on the couch in his younger brothers' suite. "Sometimes—I will say sometimes, I don't want to give him too much credit—he acts like a dad away from home for us," Holden said. Sage said, "They're trying to make the jump with maturity in their wrestling, just knowing positions instead of forcing positions. I feel like I can help with stuff like that."
           
    Together the three provide a rare energy and synergy. "I don't see any downside," Holden said, citing an example from a match against Franklin & Marshall. "I had a pretty skilled opponent and I was getting myself ready. Reece was in a bit of a scramble and I stopped to focus on his match. All of a sudden, he hips the kid over and pins him. The crowd goes wild and all of a sudden, I'm psyched. I'm happy that not only my teammate got the pin but my brother got the pin. Then I went out and pinned my kid. Then Sage goes out and pins his kid with two seconds left on the clock. So, I think we definitely impact each other."
           
    All three have winning records in conference competition (combined record: 10-2). Each of them calls both parents every day. But they are quick to note that they are not clones. Each is unique on the mat. "Our whole lives, we've pretty much had the same exact training but our styles of wrestling mix in with our personalities," Holden said. "We definitely all have defining characteristics that make us pop."
           
    The consensus is that Reece is aggressive, Holden methodical and Sage, in his own estimation is, "kind of a mix of both of them" (Holden called the oldest brother "hard-nosed…very physical").
           
    They stand out on campus when they go to the cafeteria together. But they point out that they all are just part of Hofstra's squad. "Everybody on the team is so close that I feel like everybody on the team is my brother. I feel like I'm close to everybody," Sage said, then added of his brothers, "But having them close is really nice."
           
    All of the Hellers recognize that wrestling generally does not promise long and lucrative professional careers. So, they embrace every minute of their college years. "I probably won't be wrestling when I'm 65, but this will definitely have a lasting effect on me and I'm really appreciative of that," said Reece. "Being able to do that with my brothers makes it all the more special."